Time Stone Misadventures
by Kittybubbles1998
Summary: *A set of one-shots fusing Elise Lowing's LBT world with mine* Traveling to the Land Before Time wasn't always as easy as Aylene thought. When the Time Stone acts up, she finds herself in precarious circumstances without the help of the Gang of Five.
1. Troubles

Troubles (LBT Retold Fusion Fic)

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Land Before Time franchise. Nor do I own anything created by Elise Lowing.**

 **With permission from Elise Lowing to use her characters, I have created a fusion of her and my LBT worlds. The ages of the Gang of Five/Seven will be different, since in my world they are about 15 and in hers, they're around 5, so they'll be around the Time of Growing (11ish) in this universe. The human characters will all still be their same ages from both stories.**

 **This is a simple one-shot, playing with both stories. I wrote this with the knowledge of Elise Lowing's fifth LBT book on the 16th chapter: Predator Rage. I tried to write the dinosaur characters in more of a realistic dino version. I will also apologize right away for one of my character's foul langue - it's how they are.**

Like any other late afternoon, the song of birds and insects filled the ancient forest. The summer sun filtered through the thick canopy of leaves, light dappling the forest floor. Everything was normal for this time of year, until a bright flash of green light filled a nearby clearing.

The forest creatures ceased their songs for one another. Most scurried for cover within the underbrush or high in the trees. A strange green light hovered a few inches above the ground, continuing to cast its glow onto the leaf litter of the forest floor. Gradually, it opened and stretched upwards into an oblong circle three feet wide and six feet tall. A creature stepped out of the glowing oval, revealing itself as a fifteen-year-old girl. She was of average height and built. Her skin was a soft golden tan from the large amount of time she spent outside in this world and her own. Her brown hair fell in messy waves around her shoulder and her bright blue eyes swirled with happiness. On her back was a blue gym bag and around her waist was a quiver full of her own handmade arrows, the matching bow slung over one shoulder.

The girl took another step forward, away from the glowing green portal. There was another, larger hand placed on her shoulder. It belonged to her eighteen-year-old brother whom swiftly exited the portal. As soon as his black gym bag departed, it closed shut. He glanced over his shoulder at the fading green disk before turning back to his sister.

He possessed the same tanned skin, yet his was a shade darker than his younger sister's. His hair was also the same shade and hers. It was shaggy, falling over his dark blue eyes and growing past the nape of his neck. The young man was also at the top of physical fitness, his six-foot-two-inched frame covered in toned muscle.

As he shifted his larger bow from his shoulder, he watched his sister, her eyes closed, stretch to the yellow painted sky of the setting sun. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose before letting her arms fall back to her sides. The girl then opened her bright blue eyes. Instantly, they filled with confusion at the sight of her surroundings.

"Aylene?" the young man asked from behind her. "Where are we?"

The girl glanced from tree to tree, hoping to recognize something. Nervously, she turned to her brother as she clutched the green stone that hung around her neck. "I- I don't know," she whispered, eyes darting in any direction she noticed movement. "I've never seen this place. I don't think we're even near the Great Valley, Derek…"

"Doesn't it always bring you to the Great Valley?"

"I thought so..." Aylene trailed off, looking down at the glowing stone clutched in her hand. She looked up, blue eyes searching the foliage in worry. She never appeared too far from the Great Valley other than the first time she entered the exotic world of dinosaurs. That was when she first met her best friend, an Apatosaurus youngster named Littlefoot.

At the thought of the taupe longneck, an idea entered the girl's mind. Was her Time Stone connected to Littlefoot, not the Great Valley? Ken, a good friend of hers from the human world, always ended up with Ali, his own Apatosaurus friend. She lived with a migrating herd and Ken always appeared nearby the herd, even if they were on the move. Could Littlefoot and his friends be in this forest? Maybe this was the Great Valley; it was a place she had not explored yet. Aylene bit her lip in worry before she took a step forward, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Littlefoot!" she called out. "Are you here? Littlefoot!" Dropping her hands, she watched the thick foliage that surrounded Derek and her. No movement. Not even a rustle from the smaller creatures who made their homes here.

Aylene swallowed back her rising fear; she cupped her hands around her mouth once more, calling out to her other dinosaur friends. "Cera! Ducky!"

Catching onto his sister's intentions, Derek joined. "Spike! Petite!"

As the pair's calls decreased, they listened for a response. Only the songs of the birds and buzzing of the insects answered them. Aylene bit her lip, fiddling with her necklace. Why were her friends not answering them? Maybe they were not anywhere near the Great Valley. Maybe her friends had gone out on an adventure and gotten themselves hurt. The Time Stone must have sent her out here to help them. Why else would she be _here_.

"They're not here," Derek stated, tugging at the straps of his black gym bag as he eyed the thick canopy above. "What do you want to do, Aylene? This is _your_ world."

The fifteen-year-old let out a small sigh. They could not return to their home world for the next few days, as the stone had to recharge. The best option would be to find out where exactly they were. What if this was a predator's territory? What if a carnivore knew who she was? All she and her brother had were arrows. Most carnivores were over twice their size, hunted in packs, or both. The girl shuddered at the thoughts racing through her mind. This day was turning out to be awful. First, Penny reminding everyone how much she liked dinosaurs and Aylene almost reveling her secret little world. Then her and Ken getting into an intense argument about what had happened during the Penny thing. Now this, nowhere near the Great Valley and carnivores ready to kill her for the title of 'Walking Terror.'

"Aylene." Derek's voice broke the girl's panicky thoughts. "Relax. I'm sure we can hike out of this forest and be at the Great Valley's entrance. We have to be close. Why would your Time Stone send you here if we weren't?" He stepped forward and placed a hand onto her shoulder. "Come on. Let's get to higher ground and at least have a look around."

His sister nodded, thumbing the Time Stone. All she knew now, was that they were not in the Great Valley, meaning they were vulnerable to predators. Aylene knew that not all of them were out to get her and her dinosaur friends. Some were grateful for Sharptooth's death, like his own brother, Strongfang. There was also the Baryonxy, Battlescar, who was thankful for Aylene and her friends' deed. Sharptooth had terrorized his pack for years during his childhood and even killed his father.

Still... with the thankful ones, the ones that would rather kill her and her friends outweighed them. Most predators would especially want to kill her as she was the one who ended Sharptooth's life. Not only that, but she was a human, a creature rarely seen in this world and thought of as a prize prey item to some carnivores. The heavy weight of this knowledge always bore down on her, especially when she and her friends were anywhere outside of the valley. This reluctance to go outside of their haven had already been getting on her orange scaled Triceratops friend's nerves.

"Aylene!" Derek shouted. "You're lagging. Come on. We need to get going before the carnivores start coming out."

The fifteen-year-old nodded her head, quickening her pace to keep up with her older brother. Derek watched her, dark blue eyes narrowed at her hunched form as she continued to fiddle with her green Time Stone. He knew something was up with the uncomfortable silence, her fidgeting fingers, darting eyes, and nervous, almost scared expression.

"Aylene," he spoke up, falling in step with his sister. "What's wrong? And don't try saying it's nothing. I know something serious is bothering you. Is it about the fight between you and Ken? Or is it something else?"

Aylene shook her head, blinking away the tears threatening to spill. Derek did not know that most predators were out for _her_ blood. He had not encountered nearly as many scaly fanged beasts out to kill him for a title of high honor. Derek may be her brother, but he was just another mere human in the world of dinosaurs.

Swallowing back the tears, Aylene spoke, "I'm worried about the predators. Without the protection of the Great Valley or dinosaurs like Grandpa Longneck, Topps, or Kosh, I feel so vulnerable. I know I have you by my side and we both have weapons, but I feel like it's not enough to defend against a carnivore twice our size. A T. rex could come crashing through those trees any moment and kill us with a single bite. I've never really noticed how close to death me and the gang have really come to and almost all those incidents are because we killed Sharptooth. All I can see in my head now is Littlefoot's mother and the nightmares..." Aylene gave a small sniffle as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying her best to hold back her tears.

Frowning at his sister's discomfort, Derek hugged her. He said nothing as he stroked her hair, staring out into the trees in the distance. He hated seeing her like this. It tugged at his heartstrings when Aylene was like this. They were so close, closer than most siblings. They rarely got into any arguments and openly cared for one another. Adventuring together in this world had also strengthen their bond.

"Come on." Derek finally spoke up, pulling away from his sister. "We have to get to higher ground. I'm sure we can find out where we are from there. We can't be too far away from the Valley."

For most of the hike upwards, the pair stayed silent. Derek knew Aylene was not in the mood to talk about anything. From the issue of the carnivores, the fight with Ken, and the possibility that her friends were out here... There was nothing that could brighten her mood. He was curious about what happened to cause such an argument between the close friends. All he had gotten out of his sister earlier was that she and Ken had gotten into a big fight over something Aylene said. Even if it was not the best topic, it would be something to break the silence and hopefully help his younger sister with her emotions.

"So what happened between you and Ken today?"

Aylene did not respond right away, not happy with the conversation starter. "We got into an argument over what I said to Penny."

"And…? What happened between you and her?"

"I had one of my dinosaur field books out during lunch. Ken was sitting next to me since he had finished eating and his buddies were talking about something he didn't want to listen to. Penny was walking past. She saw Ken with me and my dinosaur book so she asked me why I liked them so much. She called them stupid, ugly, bumbling beasts and I kind of got mad at her. You know I normally wouldn't but school's been stressing me out lately. I ended up saying 'You would learn to love dinosaurs if you ever met one.' She just rolled her eyes at me and walked away. After that Ken and I got into the argument."

Derek hummed at his sister's words. He understood why Ken became angry. What his sister had said would not have made much sense to most people, but some may have caught onto how she had worded it. Neither Ken nor Aylene needed their classmates questioning them about what she had said. Luckily, or unluckily, today happened to be the end of the school week. They would have to see if Aylene's statement died down or accumulated more suspicion.

"Maybe you should bring her along one of these days. Show her what a real dinosaur is like," Derek joked, a playful grin gracing his lips.

"No way," Aylene grumbled under her breath. "I wouldn't dare take her to meet Littlefoot and the others. She's worse than Cera when I first met her."

At the comment, Derek gave a chuckle. "Would there be any classmates you would like to bring along? Other than Ken, of course."

The fifteen-year-old said nothing, pondering over the question. "None of my classmates, but I would love to bring Rebecca here. I'm sure she would love it."

"Still miss her, huh?"

"Yeah...It's gotten easier over the year, especially with the Gang and Ken, but some days I find myself thinking about her, wondering how she is. What she's been doing since she moved."

"I understand," Derek said as he eyed the top of the hill. "Look, we're almost at the top. Come on!" The young man jogged the rest of the way up the rocky mound, Aylene in tow.

Within minutes, the pair was at the top. Panting, they collapsed into the soft grasses of the tall hill. After a few moments of catching their breath, the pair sat up against a nearby tree. They pulled out the generic granola bars packed full of proteins, vitamins, and minerals. As they ate, they also sipped at the water within their canteens that normally hung at their hips. Aylene and Derek sat in silence for a few minutes as they ate and drank.

Derek stuffed his wrappers into his black gym bag before standing up. He raised a hand to his forehead, dark blue eyes searching the dim horizon. His brow furrowed when he could not see any crater-like formation of the valley he and his sister knew and loved. He began to turn, searching elsewhere for the valley. Still, he did not see anything resembling the Great Valley, only trees as far as he could see.

Not convinced that the home of Aylene's herbivore friends was nowhere near, he slipped a pair of binoculars out of his bag. Placing them over his eyes, he began his search again, this time much slower. Aylene watched from the ground, slowly chewing on the last half of her granola bar. Her appetite she had moments ago was reduced to a sickly, bubbling feeling in the pit of her stomach. She continued to nibble at her meal, knowing that she had to eat.

"Aylene," Derek sighed, lowering the binoculars from his eyes. "I can't find the Great Valley. We're nowhere near it."

The fifteen-year-old sighed, running a hand through her shoulder length hair. She had a feeling that the Great Valley was nowhere close. Derek sat down next to her, slipping the binocular back into his bag. "What should we do now? Hang out here until your Time Stone starts working?"

When he said this, Aylene took the green stone into her hands. "I wish I knew more about it. I feel like there are so many other things that I don't know." She shook her head, running her thumb along its smooth surface. "I wish I asked Grandma more about it last time we were over there."

"Don't worry, Aylene," Derek comforted, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. "We'll just camp out here for a few days. We've been camping before with Mom and Dad and we do it every time we stay in the Great Valley for a few days. Now, it's just that we have to keep an eye out for predators." Derek's smile faltered as he shook his head. It seemed that his sister's worry was transferring to him.

Sighing at his own words, Derek ran a hand through his brown, shaggy hair. He then rubbed his thumb across his scruffy chin before slipping his black gym bag off his shoulders. A loud hiss suddenly sounded from within the foliage. Spinning around, the young man watched the bushes rustle and shudder from the unknown creature's breath. Swallowing hard, he strung an arrow into his bow, watching as Aylene stood up and did the same. The pair could not take any chances. This could be one of the many carnivores chasing after them with the intent to kill.

A scaly tan snout appeared from between the leaves. It was held low to the ground, nostrils quivering at the scent of the humans and forked tongue flickering in and out as it tasted the air. A set of large canine teeth was visible on either side of its lower jaw. Strange hollow grunts and hisses emitted from the beast as it took another step forward.

"A Dimetrodon," Aylene hissed under her breath, recognizing the curved head, powerful jaws, jutting canine fangs, and lizard-like stride. She tugged the string of her arrow back, keeping it taunt for the approaching synapsid.

The fifteen-year-old watched with baited breath as the rest of the Dimetrodon's body slide out from the leaves. She glanced to Derek from the corner of her eye. She could see that he was just as terrified as she was. The both of them may have faced off with Dromaeosaurs and shot at T. rexes from a distances, but this was different. They were up close and personal with an eighteen-foot long synapsid. Even Aylene did not know much about these prehistoric beasts that lived before the dinosaurs.

The Dimetrodon watched them; yellow eyes glinted with the intelligence many of the large creatures in this world possessed. His eyes were different from any human or dinosaur Aylene knew. Most of his body was tan with the typical lighter underside, his a dusty brown color. From the top of his head down to the tip of his tail was splattered a darker brown. The rest of his body seemed to be sponged with a dull red-brown color, much liked dried blood. He also possessed four red-brown eyespots on either side of his sail. All of them were ringed with the same dark brown as his back, with a splash of dark brown in the center to mock the appearance of an eye. There was also one other thing about him that stood out; his body was covered in symbol-like scars.

He faced his flank towards the pair of siblings, hissing at them. The massive, spotted sail on his back began to flush red with blood. His jaws stayed parted in a hiss as yellow eyes locked onto the humans. He was greeting them with the traditional ways of his kind: flashing his sail colors at them to show he was strong and healthy.

As his display died down, the Dimetrodon approached Aylene and Derek. He gave a loud hollow grunt directed towards Aylene. The girl loosened her arrow, blue eyes narrowing at the large synapsid. She glanced down at her Time Stone, its soft green glow flicking sporadically across her chest. She looked up at the Dimetrodon as it gave another hollow grunt, annoyance flashing within its eyes.

"What is it saying?" Derek asked, arrow still knocked.

"I- I don't know. I can't understand it. I think my Time Stone is having a hard time picking it up." Aylene stared at the grunting Dimetrodon. Gradually, the meaning of the short hollow grunts came to her.

"Iron Jaws. Iron Jaws. Iron Jaws," the tan scaled synapsid repeated over and over again. Noticing the change on the girl's face, he stopped his grunts and changed to a series of low hisses. "You understand? I Iron Jaws...of the...Cursed One. You...killer of...Sharptooth?"

The girl said nothing, only taking a step back from the Dimetrodon. He obviously knew who she was and what she had done. Now, was he here to thank her or kill her? Feeling as if it was the latter, Aylene strung her arrow again, biting her lip as she aimed it at the tan scaled synapsid. "What do you want with me?"

Iron Jaws only glanced over at Derek when she said this. That simple phrase she spoke were the words he needed to hear. She was the killer of Sharptooth and this young man beside her was most likely her brother, Derek. He was the only other human seen with her multiple times in the herbivore paradise. The male human was older and stronger, both physically and mentally, just what he needed.

The Dimetrodon hissed at Derek, flashing his four eyespots before flushing his sail full of blood at the young man. Derek took a step back in surprise, glancing at his sister in confusion. Why was it suddenly targeting him? Aylene shook her head as she ready her arrow. As Iron Jaws gave a low hiss followed by a hollow grunt, she released the arrow.

The prehistoric beast gave a sharp roar, turning his yellow gaze to the girl. Aylene's arrow had struck him in the right flank, just between his ribs. He hissed at her, but turned back to Derek. The young man was what he was after. He did not care about the killer of Sharptooth. He had only followed her scent in hope that her brother would be with her. The Dimetrodon was here to make _him_ better.

Iron Jaws gave another hiss before swinging his body around, charging at Derek. The young man was caught by surprise at the large synapsid's speed, but quickly released his arrow. The Dimetrodon instinctively swung his body to the side, the arrow grazing his shoulder. Iron Jaws hissed at Derek once more before he reared up on his hind legs, jaws agape.

Terrified at the display, Derek fell onto his back, losing the grip on his bow as the beast dropped to the ground once more, forepaws on either side of the young man's face. He hissed once more, hot breath smelling of rotting flesh bathing Derek's face. The young man grimaced, turning his face away from the beast's deadly jaws as he coughed.

"I…will make you…better," the tan scaled synapsid breathed, forked tongue flickering out. The slimly pink muscle whisper across Derek's cheek, leaving a faint trail of saliva. The synapsid's bright yellow eyes scrutinized Derek's face for a long moment. What would be the best choice to start out with?

Just as the perfect idea came to his mind, a sudden pain coursed through his hind leg. He gave an angry roar as he turned to Aylene. The girl had just fired an arrow into his hind leg! He could see the shaft imbedded in his left thigh.

"Stay away from my brother!" she declared, knocking another arrow.

Iron Jaws puffed out his throat in a low hiss. Maybe he would just mark her. She did kill the Walking Terror with a single arrow to the heart. She might be stronger than he thought. It had been a least a year since the incident also. She must have become stronger over time. There had been many, many rumors about the five herbivores children traveling together on adventures with their human friend.

The Dimetrodon snapped his jaws in an aggressive display. He charged forward, jaws agape, dripping with saliva. Aylene released her knocked arrow, striking Iron Jaws in the right side of his neck. Another arrow stuck the synapsid in his lower left flank. He turned back to Derek, the young man standing again and already pulling out another arrow from his quiver. "Don't you dare hurt my little sister."

Iron Jaws let out an annoyed huff at the pair of siblings. They were both over protective of one another. Both had excellent aim. He may as well stay with his first plan, to mark the older human.

Turning around, Iron Jaws let out another low hiss, charging forward at Derek. Another pair of arrows imbedded into his flesh. These two striking his tail and just below his sail. He ignored the pain, jaws clamping down onto Derek's right leg. The young man fell to the ground again, dropping his bow and arrow he was in the process of knocking.

Instinctively, Derek gripped Iron's Jaw's mouth, a scream of pain caught in the back of his throat. Through the pain, the young man tried to pry the jaws against from his calf, but Iron Jaw's curved teeth would not release that easily. When Derek could feel no loosening of the Dimetrodon's jaws, he jabbed his thumbs into the soft flesh beneath his chin.

Iron Jaws released his grip on Derek's leg just as Aylene shot another arrow into his tail. The Dimetrodon just ignored her, taking a step back as he shook his head. Derek's thumb had stabbed the soft spot of his throat, which did not feel good at all. When the pain finally faded, Iron Jaws lunged back at Derek. He paid no heed the Aylene's arrows that now peppered his tail and lower back. He pressed his right forepaw into Derek's stomach while he began scraping at the young man's right leg with his other paw. The beast's sharp claws ripped away the dark fabric of Derek's shorts, revealing the tanned skin beneath.

Derek tried his best to push Iron Jaws away from his now bare, bloodied leg, but the Dimetrodon did not budge. The synapsid only gave a low growl at the pressure before snapping his powerful jaws, missing Derek's nose by mere centimeters. The young man stopped his struggling, fearing for his life. Iron Jaws continued scrapping away at Derek's leg, claws digging deeper into the young man's muscle. Blood gushed from the wounds Iron Jaws was creating. Derek gripped the grasses beneath him, trying to hold back the scream of pain. He did not want to worry Aylene anymore than she was as she continued to shoot Iron Jaws. To his worry, she was almost out of arrows. If she did not hit the synapsid in a vital place, he would be a goner.

Derek could not keep his scream in when Iron Jaws raked his clawed forepaw from his hip down across to the inner side of his knee. At the sounds of her older brother's agonized cries, Aylene stopped her assault on the Dimetrodon. Her blue eyes widened in fear as she took in the situation again. Iron Jaws was on top of her brother, jaws and claws covered in his blood. His forepaw pressed against his bare thigh as he withered in pain.

"Stop!" Aylene scream, tears brimming her fear-filled eyes. She raised her bow to Iron Jaws, last arrow knocked. "Why are you doing this?"

Iron Jaws' yellow eyes glared into Aylene's blue ones. Why must she disturbed him in his work? He gave a low hiss, puffing out his throat before he turned back to the panting Derek. The young man's screams suddenly increased as Iron Jaws pressed his paw harder against his leg.

Aylene swallowed hard at her brother's howls. She had to do something. Her shots from before had done nothing to stop the prehistoric beast. She had to shoot him just like she shot Sharptooth. Normally, she hated shooting another creature with an arrow, let along killing it. She believed that all the dinosaurs in this world deserved to live, even Sharptooth once she learned about the severe mental illness he suffered from. But…her brother's life was on the line right now. She had to do something.

Taking in a shuddering breath, she raised her bow and arrow at Iron Jaws. Steadying her aim, she slowly exhaled. Just as Iron Jaws lowered his head towards Derek's neck, Aylene released her arrow. Everything happened in a flash.

Iron Jaws' pained roar filled the darkening sky. His blood splattered across Derek's face as the synapsid thrashed his head from side to side, arrow lodged just below his right eye. He continued to roar, backing away from Derek's prone, bloodied form. Iron Jaws turned on Aylene, anger flashing in his yellow eye, the other one unable to open. He gave a mighty roar, almost akin to Sharptooth's.

Aylene's eyes widened in horror. She was weapon-less now. Her last arrow lodged under Iron Jaws' eye while the rest peppered his body. She stumbled backward, watching as the ferocious Dimetrodon inched closer to her. His jaws parted, displaying his different sized fangs coated slick with blood and saliva. Aylene could do nothing more as she felt herself bump into the rough truck of a tree, her scream of terror caught in the back of her throat.

Just as Iron Jaws reached her, an arrow struck him in the back of his neck. The synapsid roared in pain, turning to glare at Derek, who had managed to get to his feet and reached for his bow and arrows. His face was twisted with pain but he would do anything to defend his little sister. "Come on! I'm the one you want," he shouted, panting at the pain lacing through his mangled leg.

Iron Jaws gave a low hiss, but to the young man's surprise, he back away. The Dimetrodon had gone through enough trouble today. He was covered in arrows and almost lost an eye. He could find another specimen to mark. He let out another low hiss before slinking off into the foliage, droplets of his blood coating the grasses.

The trembling Aylene stared at the place Iron Jaws a disappeared, trying the slow her pounding her and catch her breath. Her thoughts ran wild. What did that synapsid really want? Why had he attacked Derek? How was he going to make her brother 'better'? Why did he not retreat after the first few arrow shots? He did not even retreat after she shot him just below the eye. Would he die of blood loss from all those arrow wounds? Deep in the depths of her mind, she hoped so. He had attacked her brother for no reason. Her brother…

"Derek!" Aylene cried, rushing up to her brother who was now sitting on the ground again. As she kneeled down next to him, she finally registered the extent of his injuries. With a hand over her mouth to keep the rising bile back and blue eyes wide with fear, she observed the wounds. His right thigh was completely mangled, drenched in his own blood, while a deep set of puncture wounds marred his calf. The deepest gash in his thigh started at his hip, running across his thigh and over to the inside of his knee. At the start of the laceration, another, less deep cut sliced around his hip. The middle of the long laceration was another gash slashed through it. Another less deep cut run just under his knee.

"Derek," Aylene whimpered. "What can I do…?" The wound was too big to clean out with some water and a towel like she did with Littlefoot on their journey to the Great Valley. She did have bandages and some antibacterial ointment in her gym bag, but that would not help unless she could find something to stich the wound close. She should have learned by now to bring a first aid kit along whenever she went to this world. With she and her friends going on so many dangerous adventures, they were bound to get hurt at some point. Aylene just never imagined it would happen to her older brother.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Aylene slipped her gym bag from her shoulder and began to rummage through it. "I wish Ken was here," she muttered to herself as she began to pull a towel out of the bag. "At least he would know what to do." She knew he had told her some things about medical stuff, but she never really remembered it too well. He was the one that wanted to be a doctor, not her. Most of the things he talked about were not important to her until now.

"We can't do anything about that now," Derek spoke up, teeth gritted in pain. His dark blue eyes focused on his bloodied thigh and ripped shorts before looking back up at his sister. Her face was somber as she began to pour water onto one corner of the towel. As she did this, he reached for one of his arrows. Using the sharped head of it, he began to cut through the fabric of his already torn shorts. It hurt too much to tear it away, and he did not want to take them off in front of his sister. That would just be too awkward for the both of them. When the stray pieces were cut away and the rest of his pant leg was cut evenly enough, Aylene approached him.

The fifteen-year-old swallowed hard at the sight of so much blood, but began to clean her brother's wounds. Luckily, the bleeding seemed to have slowed down a bit, but she could tell that Derek was feeling the effects of losing so much blood. The minutes passed and Aylene dabbed away more blood. Soon enough, she could see Derek's tanned skin. Sighing, she sat back, placing the bloody towel on the ground beside her as she looked at the wounds. Her brother's leg was still bleeding, but something looked strange to her. The long lacerations almost looked like…a symbol.

"What the...?" Derek trailed off, also staring at the injury. "It-it looks kind of like a Viking symbol. Umm…eihwaz. It's called eihwaz but this one has a line through the middle of it."

"What?"

"Rachel was teaching me about them one day. I think it means defense, well the Viking rune does. I don't know about this thing."

"Why would he do that to you?" Aylene asked as she began to look through Derek's bag for anything that she could wrap his leg with. It was still bleeding and she only had the bloody towel, and the roll of bandages she had in her bag was just not enough to cover Derek's entire thigh. She ended up pulling out a black graphic t-shirt. She raised an eyebrow at the picture printed on it as she turned it to Derek. On the shirt was the name of a popular rock band along with their insignia. "When were you into rock music?"

The young man gave a small shrug, a sheepish smile playing on his lips. "I guess my skater side is taking over."

"I think you've been hanging out with the other skaters a bit too much. Mom and Dad were right about them influencing you too much." Aylene pursed her lips as she thought for a moment. This was the closest thing she had to bandages right now. She ripped the shirt in half with a small grunt of effort.

"Aylene!" Derek shouted, mouth agape in horror. "That was my favorite band shirt. I only wore it a few times and that was only under a sweatshirt at the skate park."

The brown haired girl just shrugged. "You shouldn't have brought it to the Land Before Time. I think you need to cut back on the skating, Big Brother. Your hair has gotten pretty long too. I think you need a haircut. And I don't know about this new choice of music. What would Mom and Dad think? Have you gotten into any trouble with those other guys at the skate park?"

Derek rolled his eyes at Aylene's comment. "You sound like Mom. I like my hair this way." The young man then ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. It _had_ grown longer over the past few months, now just hanging over his dark blue eyes and grew past the nape of his neck. "And no, I haven't done anything other than what I normally do, skate. I've just picked up on a few different interests than before. Besides, rock music isn't all that bad."

Aylene sighed as she began to wrap the pieces of Derek's ripped shirt around his wound, stanching the bleeding as best as she could. She frowned at the wetness of the shirt but only tied the other half on the upper part of his thigh, hopping to stop anymore bleeding. Her playful mood was gone, worry for her brother replacing it. Sighing, she sat back, brushing her bangs away from her face. "I don't know what else to do. I wish I had some needle and thread and knew how to sow these gashes shut. I don't like that it hasn't stopped bleeding yet."

"Don't worry, you did your best, Little Sis," Derek grinned. "Even if you ripped up my favorite band shirt."

Aylene gave Derek a weary smile as she sat, legs crisscross, on the ground. She began looking through hers and Derek's bag, hoping to find something to ease her worry.

"What the hell is going on?" a male voice suddenly shouted from the trees. "There's way too much noise happening over here."

Both siblings looked over to where the voice had come from. They watched as a young man walked out of the foliage, a handmade cigar in one hand while the other was casually stuffed in his pants pocket. The stranger scrutinized the pair before taking a puff of the smoldering dried plant matter. He slowly exhaled, a smirk gracing his lips as the cloud of smoke disappeared into the air. He began to walk towards Aylene and Derek, taking in another long draw of his cigar as he stared down at the pair before drawing it away from his thin lips.

"More humans," he commented, tapping the side of his cigar with his index finger. He raised his left eyebrow at Aylene, which was pierced with a sliver stud. "And neither is a hot girl. Damn…I've been wanting some action for a few weeks now. I guess I'll have to head back home sometime…" He gave a slight groan of annoyance as he flicked his head to one side, unsuccessfully moving the rich, curly auburn hair from his eyes. It just bounced back in place over his pale blue-gray orbs.

"So…what the hell happened to you two?" the stranger asked, using his free hand to bush away the annoying curly lock. His hand followed through the rest of the curly, fiery bush of hair. His thumb graced his right ear, the fading sunlight glinting off the black metal.

"We were attacked…" Aylene muttered, already uncomfortable with the smoking young man.

"Hey," Derek spoke up, eyeing the half-inch gauges in the stranger's ears. Strangely, the right gauge was made of a sleek black material while the other was made from a pale blue, almost glowing stone.

"I like your gauges. I know someone at my skate park that has the same thing. Their pretty cool."

"Derek!" Aylene shouted.

"What?" he asked innocently. "I was thinking of getting them myself. What do you think, Aylene? I would look pretty cool with them, wouldn't I?"

Aylene just stared at her older brother, mouth agape in horror. "Derek!" she shouted again, shaking her head fiercely. "No way, Mom or Dad would never let you get them. You're spending way too much time at the skate park. As soon as we get home I'm looking through your room. I'm going to find any CD or band shirt you have and show it to Mom and Dad. You're going to get into trouble."

Derek only chuckled at his younger sister's response and turned back to the stranger. He was not worried one bit. He was eighteen after all and would soon be out of the house. He also knew that Aylene would never sneak into his room like that. They were raised better than that. At that thought, Derek eyed the strange smelling smoke wafting from the cigar between the redhead's fingers. Derek was also raised to never smoke, and that smell and sight of the object made him nauseous. He never could stand cigarette smoke for long, nor could Aylene. Still the man standing in front of him spurred many questions. How did he get here? Why was he wearing two different gauges? How long had he been out here? Where there others?

The brown haired male started with the simplest. "Why are your gauges different?"

The redhead pulled the handmade cigar away from his lips, pale gray-blue eyes looking down at Derek. "The left helps me get here. It's a…dimension stone from the Stone of Cold Fire." He blew a puff of smoke through his nose before looking down at the bloody piece of fabric wrapped around Derek's leg.

Without asking, he tore it away from the younger male's leg, revealing the strange shaped wound. The stranger raised his pierced brow at the sight of it. "You weren't attacked by a giant lizard thing with a sail on is back, were you?"

"I was."

The stranger cursed under his breath before kneeling down beside Derek. "Sorry about that, man. I think that's my fault he attacked you. You see, I was kind of on some…business with a few buddies of mine. See, this sailed lizard thing, Iron Jaws, has a thing for 'making others better.' Looks like he marked you and almost finished the rune burning. That'll probably never completely heal. Sorry buddy."

"Wait, what?"

The redhead just shook his head, patting Derek's shoulder. "The name's Ryker. Yours?"

"Umm…Derek." He was confused now. What did Ryker know about the Dimetrodon? What was this 'rune burning'? Why would it not completely heal? What if his parents found out about the scar?

"How about I get you back to the boys?" Ryker muttered, taking another draw from his cigar as he stood up. "But, I just need to do one thing." He exhaled the smoke from his lungs. As he did this, the plants began to die around him. The grasses wilting and turning brown.

Aylene gasped at the sight, her hands involuntarily drawing to her mouth. "What- what are you doing?"

"How do you know I'm doing it?" Ryker smirked, tapping the cigar again.

"What else would?" Aylene asked, her voice trembling as she eyed the dying grasses. Her head suddenly snapped back to her older brother as he let out a soft groan. His face was scrunched up, but it was not from pain. Suddenly he let out a gasp as if released from something and Ryker moved away from him. Derek opened his eyes, panting as he glared up at the older male. "What did you do?"

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Ryker asked. "Your wounds healed pretty well too."

At those words, both Aylene and Derek looked down at the injuries only to see fresh, pink colored indentations in his thigh. The bloody lacerations were no more than scars now and the bite wounds to his calf were completely gone. Gradually, Derek stood onto his feet, grabbing his black gym bag. Aylene did the same, eyeing Ryker cautiously. She did not trust this smoking redhead one bit.

"Come on," Ryker waved. "I need to get back to the boys before they start looking for me. Don't want those bumbling stoners wondering around at this hour." He took in another puff of his cigar before leading the siblings down the steep incline of the hill.

After a few long minutes of stumbling, the trio came to a stop. Aylene and Derek exchanged glances at the sight of dark smoke rising from a small cluster of trees.

"Oh, I suggest you two stay down wind. You don't seem the type that want to get high." Ryker then continued his way closer to the smoke column.

Aylene looked over at Derek, unsure of what to do. She did not trust Ryker but what else could they do? Derek shrugged and followed the redhead through a thicket of trees, Aylene in tow. As the pair passed through the thicket, they were in for a shock as they realized who was sitting by the glowing, yellow-orange fire.

"Hyp? Nod? Mutt?" Aylene asked, blue eyes wide at the sight of the three Great Valley residents.

At their names, the trio of bullies turned to the two humans. "Oh…hey, Aylene," Hyp slurred, his golden eyes hooded, not fully registering what was going on around him.

"Alright! That's enough smoke for today. I don't need you guys with completely rotted brains," Ryker grinned, tossing a few large rocks onto the smoldering pile of plants.

The three dinosaurs groaned in disappointment as they shifted away from the fire. Mutt yawned, stretching his back in a large arch before rubbing a bloodshot eye. He then noticed the newcomers standing next to Ryker. He rubbed his other eye before lowering his hand-like paws. "A-Aylene…" he drawled, almost unable to say the girl's name.

"Aylene?" Nod asked, turning his teal gaze to the fifteen-year-old girl. "Woah! When did they get here?"

"You know these guys?" Ryker asked, pointing his thumb at the two siblings.

"Yeah. They visit the Valley a lot," Hyp answered.

Ryker just took in another puff from his cigar before he sat down next to Hyp. He reached out and patted the Hypsilophodon on the head in an awkward gesture. He then reached for Nod, who was seated on the other side of him, and gave the armored dinosaur a pat on the head. While the little gray sprinter had frowned at the gesture, the latter smiled, enjoying the attention. Ryker then reached out for Mutt, the largest of the trio. He gave the Muttaburrasaurus a neck rub before patting his pale brown scales. "So how are you guys doing after the rune burning?"

"Awesome," Hyp shouted, jumping to his feet, only to stumble forward. He glanced down at the fresh wound on his right thigh. He swore under his breath, noticing the blood that now began to ooze out of the strange shaped cut. He reached over to his thigh with his beaked mouth, running it along the raw wound and inflamed gray scales. He drew back from the wound, golden eyes glared at his cronies, hoping for them to be worse off. "How are yours?"

Nod gave the best shrug as a four-walker dinosaur could. "I can't really feel mine." At his words, the Nodosaurus glanced down at his left foreleg. On his knee was the same exact symbol that Hyp possessed on his right thigh. The dull green dinosaur turned to the one who had yet to speak. It took almost a full minute for the brown Iguandont to notice the pairs of golden and teal eyes on him. "Huh? Oh? What?"

"Your scar," Hyp hissed under his breath.

"Oh…um…I don't know…"

The Hypsilophodon just hung his head, scraping a paw down the side of his face. "Idiot…" He then looked up again and walked over to Mutt's right side. He stabbed a clawed finger at the scar that marred his friend's flank. "That! That right there! How does it feel?" Hyp prodded Mutt in the side a few times, golden eyes burning with annoyance as he looked up at the larger herbivore.

"Ow!" the pale brown scaled dinosaur howled. "Hyp, that hurts."

"Baby," Hyp muttered on his breath, awkwardly limping back over to Nod. The little sprinter hopped onto the armored dinosaur's back, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat down.

"Okay, okay. Stop being assholes to each other. I don't need another fight breaking out between you two." Ryker shook his head, picking up the Hypsilophodon from Nod's back.

"Hey! Put me down before I force feed you a Death Cap." Hyp thrashed around in Ryker's arms, small claws drawing blood. The small herbivore hated being held like this. He felt like a baby and he hated feeling so vulnerable. "Let me down!" Hyp then sank his thirty chisel-like teeth into Ryker's arm. The redhead should know by now that he hated being held.

Ryker gave a shout of pain, dropping the small gray scaled herbivore. He gripped his bleeding arm, glaring at Hyp as the Hypsilophodon stood to his feet. The little dinosaur may have had a beak and ate plants, but those chisel-like teeth could still do some damage. "You son of a…" Ryker trailed off, rising his now bloodied fist at the seething Hypsilophodon.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Derek butted in, waving his hands at Ryker. "No need to get violent here."

This action only caused Ryker to turn on the younger male. He threw his punch at Derek, catching him in the cheek. The brown haired man stumbled backwards, a hand placed on his cheek. He had suffered worse, like his fracture arm, but he had never been punched in the face before. His dark blue eyes glared at Ryker, but he did not retaliate, he knew better. If he through the next punch at the redhead, the fight would continue until one of them was down.

Aylene stood beside her brother, mouth hanging open in disbelief. Ryker only glared at Aylene, causing the girl to shrink away. The redhead then turned back to Hyp, reaching out a hand to grip the gray dinosaur's shoulder.

"No! Ryker! Stop! I'm sorry, okay!" Hyp cried out, struggling in the human's grasp. "Gah! I hate it when you do this!" The herbivore's struggles began to decrease, his body becoming weak with fatigue. "Ryker…stop…"

The pierced man pulled away from the small sprinter, letting Hyp collapse at his feet. He turned back to Derek, a smirk playing on his lips at the purple bruise blooming across the younger male's cheek. The grin grew wider as he noticed the labored breath, clenched jaw, and the clenching and unclenching of his fists. He was angry. Perfect.

"I pissed you off, didn't I?" Ryker laughed, hopping into a fighting stance, ready to throw another punch at Derek if he decided to come at him. "Come on. You look like you need to blow off some steam. Let's have a little tussle. I'm ready to go."

The brown haired male did nothing. He could not. He should just beat up this punk for what he did. He really, really wanted to but… Derek glanced to Aylene. His little sister was standing a few feet behind him now, Nod and Mutt cowering beside her. He could not just beat up this guy in front of his sister. He could not bear the thought of her watching him do that. He was known as the loving, caring brother that would solve problems in the least violent way possible.

"Come on, big guy. I know you want to fight. I can just see it. I'm sure you can throw a mean punch. Come on, let's have some fun. I bet you have never been in a brawl before." Ryker hopped from foot to foot, giving a few mock punches and a kick or two. He then suddenly lunged forward, throwing a punch at Derek's face.

Surprisingly, Derek caught it. His dark blue eyes glared into Ryker's, his larger hand wrapped around the skinner male's fist. Derek's jaw was clenched even tighter with anger and he could not help but squeeze Ryker's fist, yet, the redhead did not respond to the pain.

"Oh! Look who's pissed off now," Ryker taunted right in front of Derek's face. "The little wuss won't even hit me when he has the perfect shot."

"No. I won't, because I know fighting is never the answer," Derek growled, pushing Ryker away before walking over to Aylene. This guy was really getting on his nerves.

"Oh, come on, ya wuss. Violence is always the answer." Ryker jumped forward jabing Derek in the back. He was in the mood for a fight. To his surprise, Derek retaliated this time. The more muscled man swung his fist at Ryker, knuckles making connect with the redhead's nose. Ryker fall back as sting of curses emitting from him. He lay on the ground for a moment, hands cupped around his nose as blood gushed from it.

A moment passed before he suddenly gripped the ground with one hand. His other hand lay on his stomach as he glared up at Derek, yet a smirk played on his lips. "Damn, you have one mean right hook, man." A chuckle escaped his now bloodstained lips as the grasses around him began to die. Slowly, the blood flowing from his broken nose stopped.

Derek scowled down at the curly haired redhead. Ryker just stood to his feet, wiping most of the blood away from his lower lip and chin. He readied himself to hit Derek again, grinning at the confusion flashing in the other male's dark blue eyes. "What? You've never heard of people like me? I can manipulate life energy. Take it, and give it to any living thing I want. Comes in handy in a fight."

Ryker was about to throw another punch at Derek when a sudden roar echoed through the forest. The nineteen-year-old stopped in mid punch, pale blue-gray eyes searching the trees for the owner of the roar. Another thunderous call followed the first before Ryker dropped his arm.

"Carnivores," Aylene whispered under her breath, gripping her bow. She may not have any more arrows left, but she still felt safer with it in her hands.

"Ya got that right, girly," Ryker said. He grinned as the trees began to rustle with the large carnivores' weight. Slowly, he unsheathed a machete that had been strapped to his lower back. The carnivores roared again and an indigo scaled snout appeared from the foliage. It hovered just over seven feet tall as another, slightly larger russet snout appeared.

"Perfect size," Ryker muttered before turning to the three dinosaurs. "Get ready, boys and Hyp, come here."

The gray Hypsilophodon struggled to his feet, stumbling over to the human. Once he was standing next to Ryker, the human placed a hand on top of Hyp's head. Instantly, the grasses and other nearby plants began to wilt and die. Hyp seemed too brighten up, standing up straighter and filled with energy.

"Feeling better?"

"Oh, yeah! Let's kill these flesh eating bastards!"

Aylene winced at the harsh language. The two carnivores gave another roar, reminding the girl that she had no arrows. She turned to Derek, who knew exactly what she needed. Nodding, he grabbed a handful of his arrows and placed them into Aylene's quiver. Just as the girl knocked an arrow, the carnivores charged out of the foliage.

They both stood a few feet taller than Derek's six foot two frame and possessed short, robust skulls. Their arms were even smaller than a Tyrannosaurus rexes and seemed to be vestigial.

"Abelisaurids," Aylene whispered, remembering the traits described in one of her many dinosaur books. "They look like Majungasaurus from the little horns on the roof of their heads."

"How the hell do you even know how to pronounce their names?" Ryker asked. "I just call them…uh…hornbump sharptooth. Yeah, I think that's what the guys said before."

The smaller indigo colored Majungasaururs stepped forward, sniffing at the three humans. His underside was a paler shade while his back was dappled a darker shade. His russet mate shared the same scheme, paler underside and darker back. They both had ferocious orange eyes.

"I knew it," the indigo male hissed. "I told you that the smell was humans, Rose Thorn."

"Shh," the russet female growled. "I heard that they can understand our language with those stones." Her orange eyes swept over the trio, before they locked onto the green stone hanging around Aylene's neck. "She-She's the killer of Sharptooth. She killed the Walking Terror."

At those words, Aylene's heart leaped into her throat. They were after her. She looked to Derek, who was ready to release an arrow on the larger of the Majungasaururs. Only, Ryker stepped in front of him, a grin playing on his lips. "Why don't you let the boys take this. I'm sure their itching to try out their new abilities. Nod, why don't you start?"

Derek lowed his bow in confusion, but watched as the dull green scaled Nodosaurus walked up next to Ryker. The curly haired man grinned down at the armored dinosaur. "Get ready." Before Nod could reply, Ryker began to shout extremely foul insults at the pair of carnivores along with a few vulgar gestures. Aylene could only listen in horror at the words the poured from the redhead's mouth before the indigo scaled male charged forward. He may have not understood the extant of the foul human words, but he knew the intent was to insult him and his mate.

"Now, Nod!" Ryker yelled, brandishing his machete.

The indigo scaled male snapped his jaws forward at the wimpy human, only to get a nose full of metal and that he could no longer move. With blood dripping down his scaly snout, he looked down at his feet. They were covered in a large pool of strange black sludge that clung to him. He tried his best to wrench his feet from the thick muck, but they would not budge. Angered, he gave a mighty roar, "Get me out of this!"

His russet scaled mate strode up to him, eyeing Aylene with caution. She was not as reckless as her mate. She knew this young female human had killed the mighty Walking Terror and she surly could kill her and her mate, whom were of a smaller kind of predator.

"Rose Thorn!" the indigo male cried out. "Get me out!"

Rose Thorn slowly bent down to sniff at the strange black sludge. Her nose crinkled in disgust as she drew back before giving a sneeze. "Tar…" she muttered shaking her head, wishing to rid her nose of the foul fumes.

It would not come out of nowhere like this so… She observed the auburn haired human and the spikeback. Quickly, she recognized the rune on the dinosaur's right foreleg. He had to be the one creating and controlling the tar. Bearing her teeth, she glanced back at Aylene. IT was then that she noticed the girl was staying out of the action. She had no sharped sticks. Perfect.

Rose Thorn lunged forward with a roar. Nod tensed up, screwing his eyes shut. He may be armored, but if her fangs punctured his soft underbelly…He waited for another long moment, but there was no pain, only a hot liquid dripping onto the front of his face. Slowly, he opened his teal eyes, only for his heart to almost stop.

Blood. So much blood. Oh no. He was starting to feel dizzy and light headed. He had never seen so much blood, and the squealing agony filled roars did not help the situation. The last thing he registers as his world turned black was the weight of Ryker on his back.

"Shit! Nod! Damn it! You're not supposed to pass out! It's just blood!" Ryker let out a yell of frustration as the dull green herbivore slumped to the ground, unconscious.

He hopped off the Nodosaurus but not before giving a kick in the back. "Useless animal." Ryker then turned to the female Majungasaurus who had stumbled away from her indigo mate. Blood coated the peachy-pink scales of her chest, Ryker's machete still lodged in her chest. She began to teeter from side to side, the massive amount of blood loss causing her to feel light headed.

"Rose Thorn!" the indigo male cried out. "Don't fall, please don't."

"Bruised Dusk…" the russet female muttered unable to heed to her mates commands. Her body began to fall forward, crashing to the ground. Just as Bruised Dusk feared, her body landed just so, the machete piercing deeper into her chest.

"Rose Thorn!" Bruised Dusk cried, his struggles increasing. "Rose Thorn! No!" A roar ripped from his throat as he threw his head back.

Aylene continued to watch the struggle, hands over her mouth as tears glistened in her blue eyes. How could Ryker do that? He just killed a creature with an intellect near their own. A creature with a conscious, just like her, Derek and himself. That female, Rose Torn, had a mother, a father, siblings, and possibly children. Children… If the indigo male was killed, their offspring would have no one to care for them. Even if they were after her because of the title she had earned from killing Sharptooth. They still had a family.

"Don't," Aylene whisper but it was drowned out by Bruised Dusk's furious roars.

The male Majungasaurus hated every single one of these creatures that were standing in the tiny clearing. He would kill every one of them for his mate's life. The auburn haired human would be first. To lose your life from such a small, pathetic excuse for an animal was horrible.

Bruised Dusk snapped his jaws at the human, but he was out of reach, having woken his armored companion and moved far out of the carnivore's jaws. The only one close enough was…the Muttaburrasaurus. Its brown eyes just stared up at him in fear. He was frozen to the spot, just like Bruised Dusk was stuck in the tar. Snarling, the indigo carnivore throw himself forward, jaws agape, ready to chomp down at the igonodont. Finally, Mutt moved, but it was just to cower away from the robust jaws, yet, the movement did cause something else to happen. Pollen from all the nearby plants wafted up through the air, covering Bruised Dusk in it.

The carnivore crashed to the ground, roaring in anger when he had not reached his target. He then began to sneeze, spraying thick globs of snot everywhere, including Mutt.

"Good job, Mutt," Ryker grinned from atop of woozy Nod.

"Uh…"

"Do you even know how to speak?" Hyp muttered under his breath as he scraped a foot against the ground, digging away the long gashes to reveal the dirt below. A white mushroom began to grow out of the earth before the gray Hypsilophodon plucked in from the ground. "You know what? I'll just finish him off myself." He sauntered over to the prone Majungasaururs.

Bruised Dusk just narrowed his orange eyes at the approaching herbivore. Was it this stupid to walk towards him? No matter, he would kill it. He let opened his jaws to roar, only for the small gray dinosaur to toss the fungus into his open jaws. Bruised Dusk closed his mouth in surprise, swallowing the tiny morsel. Hyp grinned when he saw this and let out an evil chuckle. "Have fun dying, sharptooth. I just fed you a…destroying angel."

"What?" Aylene shouted. "You're just going to let him lay here and die a painful death? How could you do that?" She then turned to Ryker. "How could you kill that female Majungasaurus? She and this mate could have a family. They might have children back home, maybe even hatchlings that don't even know how to defend themselves."

"Well, they shouldn't have attacked us," Ryker said, ignoring Aylene as he strode over to the male. He placed his foot on top of Bruised Dusk's head, syphoning the massive amount of energy from the carnivore to infuse into him and the three bullies of the Great Valley. "There, that should make his death a little quicker. He will be unconscious for most of it and will be too tired to even notice the pain."

Aylene just stared at Ryker, tears now streaming down her face and mouth agape. "How- how could you…" she stuttered.

Derek walked forward, wrapping an arm around his little sister's shoulder, but held a firm glare at Ryker and the trio of bullies. "Come on, let's get out of this place."

The girl just sniffed. "I want to go home."

"I know little sis, I know."


	2. Storm

Storm

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Land Before Time**_ **nor any of Elise Lowing's characters. This was typed when the fifth book of the** _ **Land Before Time Retold**_ **series was finished.**

 **Note: My previous fusion story, T** _ **roubles**_ **, was a one-shot, just like all the others that I'll write in this little collection. At the end of that story, Aylene and Derek pretty much camped out for a few days then returned home to the human world once the Time Stone worked again. This one-shot does happen afterwards, but not for a few weeks. Also, the reason Aylene appeared outside the Great Valley, not with the Gang, was because she was stressed out. The stone 'misfired'. This is what all these one-shots are about, along with introducing some characters that will eventually be seen in my series.**

Ocean waves crashed against the cliff side as pterosaurs called from above to their family and friends. Their caws and the clapping of their beaks filled the air. The salty water lapped at the soft white sand that made up the shore, keeping it unmarred from the footprints of the few inhabitants that occupied the shoreline. A tiny eudimorphodon swooped low into the ocean water. It skimmed the warm water with its feet, spying the tiny silver fish swarming at the surface. Another eudimorphodon drove into the water headfirst. It snapped at the tiny fish, small teeth nipping the tailfin. With another snap, the small, gray pterosaur had the silver fish in its jaws. Quickly, it popped out of the water, tiny silver fish grasped in its jaws. It flapped its wings, water dripping from its small, thinly feathered body.

The other, lighter colored eudimorphodon followed, a similar fish clutched in its talons. The pair danced with one another, prey gripped in their jaws or talons. Their flirty dance quickly ended as a much larger pterosaur flew between them. It was a brown Pteranodon. The intruder was a female, easily shone by her small crest.

The pair of gray colored eudimorphodon cawed in anger, causing the darker one to lose its fish while the lighter one struggled to keep their grip on the slippery vertebrate. They glared at the larger pterosaur before flying back to their respected nests built on the rock shelf. The brown Pteranodon laughed with joy, swooping low and raking the water with her talons. She pulled up from the warm liquid, not bothering to grab any of the fish swimming at the surface. She was having too much fun, especially toying with the smaller pterosaurs. Laughing, the Pteranodon flew high into the bright blue, cloudless sky. She performed several loopy-loops before she let herself freefall back towards the ocean.

She could hear many of the smaller pterosaurs shriek to her in panic. Most of them had not seen her preform her tricks before. The brown pterosaur grinned when she heard wingbeats as some left their roost to help her. They had no need to worry. Her magenta eyes snapped open at the last moment. She flipped so that her stomach was facing the oceans once more before banking to the left. Flapping her wings a few times, her body floated higher into the sky. A smirked formed on the female's yellow beak at the screeches that sounded behind her. She glanced back at them, her grin widening at their slacked beaked expressions or burning anger.

The Pteranodon giggled, diving for the ocean once more, her talons outstretched toward the salty water. Her brown body splashed into the warm water, sharp talons snatching a large yellow-green fish from beneath the crystal surface. Rising from the waters with a few flaps of her massive wingspan, she flew away from the ocean with her lunch. The large, winged creature easily glided on the warm wind currents produced by the ocean, magenta eyes locked on her home further down the shore. It was a mile away from her hunting spot. Where her home laid, also lived her one-of-a-kind friend.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind a little present from above," the Pteranodon devilishly grinned.

With a flap of her wings, she coasted along the shoreline, eyeing the dense jungle approximately one hundred yards inland. Her keen eyes searched the thick, tropical foliage for her special friend. After a moment of searching, she spotted him. She could see his small, gangly form and golden, sun-kissed skin. Cackling, she flew closer to the thick foliage, releasing her present upon the human below. "Look out below!"

The seventeen-year-old looked up at the sound of her voice. However, before he could spot the pterosaur, the yellow-green fish smacked his head. He yelped in surprise, glaring down at the large fish as he rubbed his now sore forehead. Looking up once more, he shielded his dark amber eyes from the sun. He searched the sky for his winged friend, knowing she would be the only one to play a trick like that on him. He quickly spotted his attacker, her large brown form contrasting against the blue sky.

"Empyrean!" The teenager growled in exasperation. He crossed his arms over his bare chest, a dark eyebrow raised at the Pteranodon. The human wore only a pair of shorts made from tanned animal hide. A large knife was secured on a leather belt that wrapped around his slender waist.

She only grinned back at him, swooping low as she circled from above. Her lethal talons skimmed the lush foliage as she swooped back to the sun-kissed young man. She landed on a study branch high above the human. "What, Storm?" she asked innocently, head cocked to one side.

"You know what I'm talking about," the boy snapped, his arms still crossed over his bare chest and a note of annoyance in his voice. The turquoise gem that hung around his neck by a strip of leather glistened in the sun. "I don't enjoy having fish dropped on my head while I'm working."

"Working?" Empyrean raised an eye ridge. She then gestured to the pile of small stones at the teenager's bare feet. "That doesn't look like you're working. It looks like you're just colleting stones."

Storm rolled his eyes at Empyrean. He gave a small huff, blowing away several stray strands of brown hair away from his forehead. The large pterosaur was always doing things like this to him. Teasing him about his work and his human habits. "You know what I'm doing." He turned away from Empyrean, drawing his dark amber gaze to the small pile of stones by his bare feet. He crouched down, picking up one of the stones and rolled it between his fingers before Empyrean spoke once more.

"Do I?" she asked, giving a flap of her wings to sturdy herself on the branch. "Wait." She drew a wing to her beak, looking to the sky as if she was thinking. "Are you talking about sharpening the little rocks and making them into those deadly rock heads that you put on those sticks you throw?" She giggled as she lowered her wing, noticing the annoyed look on her human friend's face.

"You know what I'm doing and you know what those 'throwing sticks' are called." Storm clenched the small rock in his hand. He began to walk deeper into the dense foliage, eyeing a twisting, gnarled tree.

Empyrean fluttered to the ground. Her wingspan was much too large for her to fly through such a dense tropical forest. Grabbing the forgotten fish in her beak, she crawled forward on all fours, following Storm. She quickly gulped down the tasty morsel before speaking again. "Why do you keep making those? Don't you get tired of it? You made a bunch a few days ago, can't you take a break from the sharpening of those arrowheads?"

"No, Em," Storm sighed, seating himself in front of the twisting tree. He began to grid the stone in his hand against a larger one he had placed next to the tree earlier in the day. "I _always_ need more arrow heads."

"Yeah, because you're always losing them."

"On animals I have to ward off." Storm glanced over his shoulder at Empyrean. The Pteranodon stood a few feet away from him, a smug grin playing on her beak. The boy rolled his eyes at her once more, returning to his work. "You know, you could help me retrieve the spears once in a while. It would give me more time for _other_ things."

"Me?" Empyrean asked, pressing a wing to her chest as she sat up. "Oh no! I could never do that." She toss her head towards the sky, flaunting her long yellow-orange beak in mock disgust.

"Lazy beakhead," Storm muttered under his breath.

"Hey!" Empyrean snapped back, playfully glaring down her beak at the human. "I am not!"

"Yeah, you are, Em. And you know it." He shook his head at the Pteranodon, wiping the sweat away from his forehead with the back of his hand. He tangled is hand through his messy, brown hair, slipping the sweat soaked bangs from his forehead. He then ran is hand underneath the choppy, wet strands that clung to his neck, wiping the sweat away and flicking it off his fingers. "Where's that father of yours? Shouldn't he have been here days ago?"

"Eh," Empyrean shrugged. "Probably, but I've learned not to care about it anymore. Normally, he's too immersed in his adventures to remember when to visit me again. He'll come see me when he can. Honestly, I think I remind him too much of Mom. Since she died, he's been a bit more distant."

"He really loved her, didn't he?" Storm asked, inspecting his handy work.

"Yeah, and she loved him just as much." Empyrean shuffled from her spot on the ground, lowering her magenta gaze. "I just wish that the slicingfang hadn't gotten her." She looked to the thick, tropical foliage that surround her, then lifted a wing to a dark purple orchid hanging just above her head. "Sometimes these flowers remind me of that day. We lived in a place similar to this. I lived there since I was a hatchling until… Savage Spine…killed my mother." She dropped her wing from the flower, lowering her head once more. "Stupid Walking Terrors. Why did father insist on having the nest in Savage Spine's territory? He was always an idiotic with an over inflated ego. But, I still love him."

Empyrean glanced back over to Storm. She frowned at the boy as he continued to grind the stone on the larger flat stone. She watched him for a moment. He carefully sharpened the rock into a deadly point. After a few seconds, Storm drew the rock away from the larger stone, inspecting it. He blew away the dust before twirling the arrowhead between his fingers.

"Are you going to do that all day?" Empyrean asked. "I was thinking we could…I don't know…do something fun." She opened her large wings for emphasis. If the foliage was not so dense, she would have taken off, then swoop down to tease the boy's tussled brown hair.

"You could get some branches for me. I'm running low on those too."

"Me?" Empyrean asked, pressing her wing to her chest. "Do work? Heck no." She opened her wings once more, flapping them. "I'll just leave you to do your boring human stuff while I talk with the other pterosaurs. I'll obviously have much more fun with them than I would with you." She turned away from Storm, thrusting her break in the air before waddling away.

"I thought you hated talking to them." Storm shouted back, a small tone of laughter in his voice. "You always rant about how annoying those little flyers are."

"I changed my mind."

"Sure you did, Em. Sure you did." Storm ginned to himself, watching the Pteranodon waddle away on all fours out of the corner of his eye. Chuckling, he shook his head at his flying friend. "Just tell me all the pterosaur gossip when you get back."

Empyrean's only reply was the sound of her powerful wingbeats. She had found an opening in the foliage for her to fly out and was taking the opportunity. Storm chuckled, shaking his head at the female. A soft smile played on his lips as he continued his work. As much as he valued the female Pteranodon as a friend, she could be an annoyance. With her lack of work ethic and desire to fly and perform tricks over the ocean, she could get nothing done. Still, she was a good friend. At the thought, he brushed his thumb over the aquamarine stone that hung around his neck. It was a gift she gave him only a few months ago.

His thumb followed over the leather twine tied around the stone as he looked to the sky. His exotic, dark amber eyes searched the bright blue heavens for the female Pteranodon. He could not see her. Sighing, he turned back to his work. He was on his second arrowhead, finally satisfied with his first. As he silently worked on the small stone, he searched the sky for his winged friend. Frowning when he could not spot her, he stood up. He was not convinced that she had actually left.

Causally, he stretched his arms in a wide arch above his head, before cracking his back. He glanced to the sky once more, waiting for the brown Pteranodon to shoot down from the lingering clouds and yell at him for not working. Seconds passed by and nothing happened. Giving a small huff, the young man turned back to his arrowhead, which was clutched in his hand. "Guess she really did leave. I should finish a few more before I wander down to the beach for something to eat."

Sucking in a deep breath through his nose, he enjoyed the feeling of the wind caressing his bare torso and ruffling his messy brown hair. It was a hot day. Typical tropical weather. Another gust of wind fluttered the large, dark green leaves hanging above the teenager. He smiled at the plants, watching as a large blue butterfly flitted to the nearest flower.

Just as Storm was about the seat himself next to the grinding stone again, a scream pierced the air. His entire body stiffened as he searched for the source. Even though it was feminine, it fortunately did not sound like Empyrean. He pushed away the leaves of a nearby plant, grabbing the spear he had stored under it. His keen ears picked up the sound of splashing from the beach. Whoever screamed, they were in the water.

"The sharks," Storm hissed, sprinting towards the white-sanded beach. This time of year, they would gather in swarms whenever there was prey nearby. Within the past few days, several had already beached themselves going after an injured animal.

The teenager crashed through the thick foliage, not caring to stalk silently as he did on his hunts. Hopefully, he could scare the sharks away from the frightened creature without any confrontation. However, as he stepped onto the hot, white sand, he realized that, that would not be the case. Storm stared, dumbfounded at the sight of another human surround by sharks. It was a girl around his age. Her skin tone only a few shades lighter than his own and he could see that she was wearing a tight, green material. She stood several feet out from shore in waist deep water, a gym bag and bow slung on her back.

Storm took a cautious step forward, barely noticing the burning sand under his feet as he tightened his grip on his spear. Who was this girl and why was she in the water at this time of year? Well, he would not find out if he left her to the sharks. He charged forward, pulling his right arm back, spear gripped tightly in his hand. With a grunt, he threw the handmade weapon.

The spear struck the largest shark, Storm having aimed at it for it was the largest dorsal fin. The shark thrashed wildly in the water, turning it red. The trashing shark gradually grew weak before it stopped moving. Its now still body bobbed on the surface, the spear imbedded in its head, before slowly sinking beneath. The other sharks swarmed around it, trying to decide whether they should eat one of their own, or not. Nonetheless, the blood drove them into a bloodlust craze.

The girl screamed again, arms held close to her chest and her blue eyes wide with terror. She was frozen to her spot in fear. She did not dare to move, too afraid of what the sharks would do next. She had not even noticed the older teen standing on the shore nor the blood turning the water red.

Without wasting another second, Storm rushed into the water and quickly made his way to the defenseless girl. He stood in front of the younger teen, arms spread out. He bared his teeth at the circling predators, a snarl escaping his throat while raking the water with his hands, dark amber eyes glaring at each circling fish. "Back off," he growled, stepping deeper into the water. "You know who I am and you know who my family and friends are. We will kill you if you take her life."

At his words, several sharks swam off. It seemed that they understood his words, or were frightened by the power and ferocity he radiated. Still, others lingered. Either they did not recognize his scent or were too stubborn to leave their newest meal. The blood wafting in the water numbed their minds with hunger and bloodlust. It did not matter if it was from one of their kind, blood was blood and flesh was flesh.

Storm took another step forward, sucking in a deep breath. The teenager lunged forward with a mighty, almost inhuman roar. At the sound, more swam off. They recognized that sound and they knew it meant death. They may be blind with hunger, but even the obvious sign of death could snap them out of it. Only two remained. A pair of juvenile Edestus—scissor teeth. They were nowhere near full grown, yet their jaws were just as terrifying as the adults. It was as if someone had forcefully pried their jaws open, bending them permanently toward the shark's body and exposing the curved brackets of razor sharp, serrated teeth.

"Get out!" Storm shouted, lashing his hand across the water, spraying the juveniles. They flinched at the display before quickly swimming off. The scent of the largest Edestus' blood emanated thick from the water, a remainder of what could happen to them.

Sighing, Storm released the tension in his shoulders, letting them drop. Content that the man-eating fish were gone, he turned to the trembling girl. He frowned at the sight of her. Her eyes were now screwed shut, yet a few tears escaped them, rolling down her tan cheeks. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself as she trembled.

"Come on," Storm breathed, wadding closer to her. "Let's get you out of here before the other sharks smell all that blood." He scooped her up in his arms, carrying the frightened girl several meters inland to where patches of grass grew from the soft white sand. Storm carefully placed the younger teen on the ground. He stayed crouched in the sand, staring at her, but she did not open her eyes. Sighing, he gave her an unsure smile, even though she could not see it.

"Stay right here. I'm going to get my spear." He then stood up, Empyrean's words echoing in his head about losing all his spears and needing to always make more. He silently waded through the now mucky water, having been disturbed by the fight. He squinted through the murky water as he searched for the spear. When he spotted an abnormal, long shape in the water below, he dove under and gripped the branch, wedging it back and forth from the dead Edestus' head. Before long, the spear popped out of the thick flesh. Storm surface, taking a huge gulp of air before heading back to shore. He glanced to the still shaken girl before tossing his spear aside before returning to the ocean and once more diving back into the murky water.

The young man swam to the Edestus carcass. Wrapping his arms around the large shark, he slowly began to pull it towards shore. It took him several agonizing minutes to haul the fish just out of the tide's reach. Dropping the brown and gray mottled Edestus to the sand, he wiped his brow. Looking over the shark, he glanced back at the girl, pursing his lips at the sight. Her shivering had stopped for the most part, but he could tell her breathing was uneven. She was crying. He eyed her wearily. He wanted to comfort her, but he did not know how. He was never good with crying creatures, especially female humans.

The teenager turned back to the Edestus, unsheathing a six-inch blade from the leather belt tied just above his waist. Hopefully, the girl would not mind him gutting the shark in front of her. There was no way he would let all this meat go to waste. It could easily feed him for at least a week, as long as his parents did not eat it all. Taking one last glance at the girl, Storm got to work, cutting into the fearsome shark's underside.

As the seventeen-year-old skillfully cut away at the shark, pulling out the internals, he stole glances at the girl. She was still shivering but her bright blue eyes were now open. Tears stained her face as she stared out at the ocean. Her knees were drawn to her chest and her arms were wrapped securely around them. Her bag was still slung over her back along with her bow. A quiver of arrows and a sword were belted to her waist.

Storm continued to pull out any of the unneeded internal organs. He contemplated the girl for a long moment, unsure of what to do for her. He _really_ did not know how to deal with crying girls. Fidgeting next to the carcass, the boy inspected his bloody work. He wanted to do something, but did not know what. He did not like seeing the girl puffy faced and red-eyed. It made him feel awkward, really awkward. Still, he had to do something, right? Pulling away from the carcass, Storm looked up at the girl sitting in the grassy patches growing in the sand. "Are you okay?"

She stared at him for a moment before nodding her head, pulling her legs closer to herself. She rested her chin on her knees, worriedly staring at the rising tide. Why did this have to happen again? Attacked by a shark. One of the animals she feared the most. She had nightmares about being eaten by sharks when she was young, and several new nightmares were added after the adventure on Chomper's island. Barely a year ago she and her five herbivore friends had been attacked by a Megoladon. And why did her Time Stone have to send her outside the Great Valley again? At the thought, she gripped the green stone that hung from her neck.

"Hey! Endless Storm," sang a feminine voice from above.

The girl looked up, mouth falling open at the sight of the female Pteranodon flying overhead. The flyer's enormous shadow casted down upon the working boy, her wing beats filling her ears. The pterosaur landed next to the teen, magenta eyes growing wide with delight at the bloody shark before her. "Oh!" she gasped, clapping her beak in enthusiasm. "Look at all this shark meat. I haven't had curvejaws for a _long_ time. Yummy!"

She waddled closer to Storm who was pulling out some of the larger, cartilaginous bones. Empyrean snatched up a small chuck of flesh. She tossed it up into the air, snapping her beak shut on the tasty morsel before swallowing it whole. Humming in delight, she leaned forward for another snack, only to finally notice the girl huddled further up on the shore. Pulling away from the pile of organs, she curiously eyed the younger teenager. "Who are you?"

She gawked at the Pteranodon, lost for words. Empyrean raised an eye ridge as she glanced over her shoulder at Storm. The brown haired boy just avoided her gaze, pretending to not have noticed as he pulled more bones out of the shark carcass. Huffing, the flyer rolled her eyes at her human friend before waddling forward to the younger teenager. "Can you understand me? Can you tell me your name?"

The girl closed her mouth, shaking her head to clear her mind. The Pteranodon reminded her so much of her little flyer friend, Petrie, and even more so of his uncle, Pterano. "I'm-I'm Aylene."

"Aylene," Empyrean cooed. "What a pretty name for a pretty girl, don't you think, Storm?" She smirked at the young man, watching as his faced turned red.

"Uh…yeah," he muttered, ducking his head away from the two females.

Empyrean giggled at his reaction, flapping her wings to become aloft once more. Aylene watched as the Pteranodon landed next to the flushed male. He looked away from her, trying his best to ignore the pterosaur as he finished his work on the Edestus carcass. She chatted at him even when he would say nothing back. He did his best not to look over at Aylene, knowing that Empyrean would take the chance to tease him about it. Finally, he finished gutting the shark and pulling out the bones he wanted to use. As he stood up, he avoided both female's gazes, walking to the lapping ocean and washing his bloody hands and knife.

"Now that you're done," Empyrean announced, flying into the sky. "I'll get your parents to bring the food back to the cave."

"What?" Storm shouted, dark amber eyes widening in horror. "No! Don't! They're just going to eat it all!"

He raised a hand to Empyrean but the female Pteranodon ignored him, cackling as she flew back towards the dense jungle. Storm watched her, shoulders slumping in defeat. Grumbling, he ran a hand through his messy brown hair with unease before he turned to Aylene. He awkwardly eyed the younger teen, giving her an awkward smile. "Uh…hi. I'm Storm if you didn't already know. So…um…how'd you get here?"

"My Time Stone," Aylene clutched the green stone that hung around her neck by a thin, sliver chain. It glowed a soft green light, even visible in the bright sunlight of the afternoon. "Don't you have one?"

Storm automatically glanced down at the aquamarine gemstone that hung around his neck. He reached for it, smiling as he clutched it like Aylene did to her own amulet. "No. This was a gift from Em, the flyer you just met. I've never traveled to a different dimension before. I was born here. But I have a friend who, I think, is from the same dimension you are from. He gave me this knife." Storm let go of the blue stone, reaching for the knife on his belt. He unsheathed it, showing it to Aylene. "He travels back and forth from his home dimension to here, just like you do. I use to live in the Land of the Mists with him before my family moved here."

"You're from the Land of the Mists?" Aylene gasped. "I know someone that use to live there too! Ali, an Apatosaurus and…Ken." At the mention of the dark haired boy's name, her face turned sour. "He's a human too. Me and Ken are a lot alike." She gave a defeated sigh, looking out to the crashing waves.

Storm narrowed his amber eyes at her in suspicion. "Well, he's not the same guy I know. I wonder if they know each other." He too watched the ocean, the waves soothing and relaxing. "So…is there something going on between you and this Ken guy?"

Aylene looked up at him in surprise. "What? How'd you know?"

Storm shrugged. "It's easy to pick up on how people and creatures feel by their body language and tone of voice. I could always tell when Shane was lying, or if something is brothering Empyrean, well, most of the time." He grinned at his own words. "You can tell me about what's going on between you and this Ken guy. I don't know if I could help but…I can try. I haven't really been in any type of situations that you have been. I've only heard stories from Shane. He's pretty much the only human I've spent any amount of time with."

The younger teen smiled, some of the tension releasing from her body. He sort of reminded her of a certain teal feathered Microraptor back in the Great Valley. His awkwardness with words and somewhat shy demeanor. He even rambled a bit, much like Guido was prone to doing. He was kind of cute in a way. And those exotic eyes. Just from a distance, she could tell they were not a normal color. They were intriguing. That was when Aylene suddenly noticed something else.

"You're not wearing a shirt," she blushed, awkwardly adverting her eyes away from his lean, sun-kissed body.

Storm gave a sharp laugh. "Well, yeah, it's so hot out here." He grinned, sheepishly scratching the back of his head as he too, looked away. "So uh, about your problem with Ken. Unless you don't want to talk about it. That's totally fine with me. We can find something different to talk about. Like—"

"It's fine. I should probably get it off my chest sometime, especially now that we're talking about it and I won't be going home anytime soon," Aylene said, tucking her legs against her chest. "I never felt comfortable telling my friends in the Great Valley or my older brother about our issue. I didn't want to worry them about it. Their all close to him and I don't want to ruin Littlefoot's friendship with Ali or any of the Gang's for that matter."

"Littlefoot?" Storm asked. "Wait. Are you…the defeater of Sharptooth? You are, aren't you?"

Aylene's head snapped up, blue eyes wide with surprise. "Why does it seem everyone knows about us?"

Storm chuckled. "Because you killed the Walking Terror of the Mysterious Beyond. Everyone that feared him knows about you and your friends. I think I know who this Ken guy is too, now that I think about it. Rumors from my homeland has it that you and another person, a male, were searching for the night flowers. You also took on Icky and Dil, right? They were a vicious pair. I think they almost got Shane one time. I remember him telling me about how a little white bird attacked him and there was a giant bellycrawler waiting for him on the shore of the river."

"How did you…? About defeating Sharptooth?"

"I have my sources," Storm grinned mischievously.

"The Pteranodon?"

Storm's grin widened. "How else? Well, Shane knew quite a lot too, but that was more about Dil and Icky." He turned to the ocean, watching the waters lap at the blood stained sand. Crossing his arms over his bare chest, he turned his gaze to the lush forest. "So…the issue…"

"Right..." Aylene muttered. "To put it simply, we had a fight a few weeks ago. Since then, we haven't really talked that much. It upsets me. A lot. He's probably my closest friend in school. I have a small group of other girls that I hang out with, but they normally gossip about school, boys, make-up and other fashion things I could care less about. I really don't share much in common with other people. No one, other than Ken, likes dinosaurs as much as I do. I feel a bit lonely without him. I don't do much at school anyway. I don't belong to any clubs, or go to any games, unless Ken wants to. I prefer being here, in this world."

"He has a Time Stone also?" Storm asked as he stood up, stretching. He dug his feet into the hot, white sand. "I wonder how it differs from the pieces of Stone of Cold Fire. Do all Time Stones look the same like the other stones? The ones with runes carved in them. I heard from Em that The Time Stone gives you some powers too. One that was similar to what Shane's did but then a bunch of other things too."

"What?"

"Never mind." Storm shook his head. The teenager wandered to the shore, letting the incoming tide wash over his feet. He buried his feet once more in the sand. "Shane, my friend from the Land of Mists, has a small piece of the Stone of Cold Fire that lets him travel to this world and back to his home. His had little symbols carved into it. He said that one allowed him to travel here and back, while the others helped him in other ways, like communicating with the dinosaurs."

Aylene looked down at the green stone resting on her chest. She brought a hand to it, stroking it with the side of her thump. "I think…they might be made of the same thing… My grandmother used to own this stone. She wander the land with her diplodocus friend, Doc. They were called the Lone Wanders. Doc and my grandmother told me that my Time Stone comes for the Stone of Cold Fire."

"Really?" Storm asked, looking up from where he stood on the shore. "It doesn't look like it. Shane's stone was bright blue. I guess it kind of glowed like yours does. But his needed runes to work and he said they all look the same. Yours doesn't look like his at all. His was pretty cool looking, not saying that yours isn't. Your stone is pretty and it looks nice on you as a necklace. Shane's was just so different than yours. What can your stone do anyway? Oh, never mind." Storm stopped himself. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment; face flushed and eyes advoiding Aylene. He was about to apologize for his ramblings when he felt a faint tremer.

Dropping his hand from the back of his head, he turned to the lush forest behind him and Aylene. A pair of brown-scaled Irritators stood a few meters from shore, curiously eyeing the human pair. The smaller sniffed the air before his dark brown eyes found the Edestus carcass. His jaws parted at the sight of the mouthwatering meal resting on the shore. The scent of blood roused his hunger. His stomach growled. Taking deliberately slow steps towards the carcass, the male inched closer. He suddenly dove for the carcass, but before his jaws could lock onto the Edestus, the female shoved him aside.

She growled at him, standing in front of her mate. Giving him another nudge backwards, she forced him away from the gutted shark. "Eat the gut pile if you're that hungry."

"Dearest," the male whined, dark brown eyes pleading with the lighter scaled female.

She just rolled her own amber eyes at her mate. "Don't. The Pteranodon said Storm wanted us to place it in the cave to _save_. Not eat, at least not now. If you want one so bad, go into the ocean and get one yourself. They're swarming this time of year. It is their mating season after all." She then turned to Storm before her amber eyes shifted to Aylene. The female Irritator grinned down at the girl. "So you are the girl Empyrean told me about. I see my son has actually found a decent female for himself." The female flashed Storm a teasing glance, playfulness sparkling within her amber eyes.

"What?" Aylene asked, turning bright red. "No, no, no. There's nothing going on between us. I just met him. He rescued me. And, what? Your son?"

"Of course," the smaller male spoke up, picking through the pile of internal organs next to the Edestus. "Can't you see the resemblance?"

The female fish-eater just rolled her eyes at her mate. "Ignore him. He can be a bit of a goofball, most of the time. Storm's…" she turned to the young man standing at the ocean shore. The boy was worriedly watching his much larger, scalier father feast on some internal organ he could not recognize. Feeling his mother's gaze on him, he turned to the female, who was the larger of the two brown-scaled carnivores. He gave her a small smile before turning back to his father.

"He's adopted," the female finished. "We found him in a tree when we lived in the Land of the Mist. I think his parent's must have been eaten by the bellydraggers."

"Oh, wow." Aylene looked down at her hands, feeling sorry for the older teen.

"Don't worry about him. He's doing just fine with us," Storm's mother grinned, revealing all her sharp teeth within her crocodilian-like snout. "Well, I think I should leave you two alone. Come on, dear." She strode up to her mate, brushing her long snout against the darker brown male's flank.

He drew away from his meal, nuzzling her under her chin, only to cover her light colored throat with blood from his meal.

"Dear," she pleaded. "My scales."

"Sorry," he apologized, but it was clear that he was not. The smaller Irritator just took the last mouthful of organs before he grabbed the Edestus' tail. With the help of his mate, the pair dragged the shark into the lush greenery. They were going to a cave to store it in the frigid waters at the very back of it. There, it would be persevered until they wanted to eat it.

Storm watched his large, scaly parents disappear into the foliage before he turned back to Aylene. As he stared at the girl, his dark amber eyes locked onto her blue gym bag. It finally registered in his mind that whatever she had in there would be drenched and possibly no longer usable. "I think you should look at your bag…"

At his words, the fifteen-year-old gasped. Slipping the bag from her shoulders, she pulled it onto her lap. "My stuff!" she cried, franticly tearing the bag open. She peered into it, only to tip it upside down and empty all the contents onto the sand beside her. Granola bars, plastic bags of spices and peanuts, her towel, and medical kit spilled out of the wet bag and onto the ground.

Storm eyed the strange items in the sand. He seated himself next to Aylene, reaching for the first thing that caught his eye: a granola bar. The older teen frowned at the strangely wrapped food. He twisted it this way and that, almost mystified by how the light reflected off the shine wrapper. Cautiously, he tore open the slick, aluminum wrapper. It was just so unworldly to have food wrapped in the strange material. He sniffed at the bar, which was made of oats and honey. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the food, breaking off a piece and popping it into his mouth. He grimaced at the bland taste, but swallowed it anyway.

The brown haired boy tossed the granola bar aside, licking his lips to rid is mouth of the strange taste. "Shane never brought stuff like that with him. He barely ever brought spices either." Storm leaned over, picking up one of the small, wet bags of herbal seasoning. He inspected it like he had done with the granola bar. Twisting the bag this way and that, sniffing it, then dipping his finger into the bag and tasting it.

Aylene sighed at the boy. He had just wasted one of her granola bars. Then there was her drenched towel and gym bag. At least everything else seemed to be fine. She was lucky that she wore her two-piece swimsuit, or it would take longer for her to dry off and she would be awfully uncomfortable.

"You're not going to be needing this stuff while I'm around," Storm grinned, placing the small bag of spices back on the sand. "I will make sure you have something _much_ tastier to eat, but—" he raised a finger, pointing to the sun. "We'll have to wait till nightfall."

As Storm had said, the pair waited for the sky to turn dark and the stars to appear. Moonlight stained the shore, turning the sand and lapping tide silver. Earlier, Storm had led Aylene to a small rock formation jutting out into the ocean, a few feet above the glassy surface. The pair now stood at the edge, peering into the water. The boy glance up, watching the sliver of a crescent moon floating in the dark starlit sky before he turned to Aylene. "Ready?"

The girl nodded, her gaze never straying from the glittering water below. Her Time Stone was glowing, the girl having blown on it moments ago, the stone reacting to her warm breath. With the light of her Time Stone and the torch Storm held, it drew the fish near. Aylene could see several shifting just below the surface. She had an arrow, ready to be nocked, while Storm gripped a spear tightly in his right hand.

Storm glanced at Aylene before turning back to the shifting waters below. He crouched low, dark amber eyes searching for the perfect fish. A yellow-green one similar to the fish Empyrean had dropped on his head earlier that day caught his eye. He moved closer to the edge, raising his spear. Pursing his lips in concentration, his grip tightened on the spear. The yellow-green fish swam closer, stripes eye catching. In one swift movement, Storm threw his spear. It spiraled through the air, but the fish sensed the forbidding presence and quickly darted away. The spear struck nothing but sand and water.

"Darn," Storm hissed under his breath, flexing his right hand in frustration. "Missed."

He stepped away from the edge, turning to Aylene. He gestured to the dark water below, "your turn."

Aylene stepped closer to the edge, nocking an arrow. She spotted a smaller, silvery fish swimming near the surface. Concentrating on the silver-scaled vertebrate, she sucked in a deep breath, steadying herself. She waited for only a second more before releasing her arrow. It sliced clearly through the water, striking its target. The small fish trashed only for a moment before growing limp.

Storm grinned at Aylene. "Nice shot!" The older teen then leaped into the warm, salty water, careful to keep the torch above his head. He quickly grabbed her arrow, handing both it and the dead fish to the waiting girl. Aylene smiled back, nodding her thanks as she took the arrow and fish. Storm then tugged his spear out of the sand bed, gazing at the fish swimming around him, attracted by the torch he held high in the air. He stared down at another yellow-green fish. Silently, the boy readied his spear. With a thrust, the spear struck the dark waters a meter or so away.

"I think I got it! Here, hold this." Storm waded over to the rock out-jut, handing the torch up to Aylene. She took it, watching as the seventeen-year-old splashed back into the water.

Storm jerked the spear out of the water, grinning at the sight of the yellow-green fish at the end of it. Clambering back to the rock, he hefted himself up and took the torch back from Aylene. "Hopefully this will be enough for tonight. You know how to start a fire and gut a fish, right?"

"Yeah," the girl smiled, holding her own fish as the two made their way back to their campsite. "I have to every time I come to this world.

Aylene placed her smaller fish on the ground once they reached their destination, Storm depositing his next to it. The teenage boy already had a fire ring made of stones, so she quickly got to work gathering pieces of driftwood scattered across the sandy beach. While she did this, Storm wander off into the jungle for some fruit. He knew it did not grow too deep, just on the outskirts of the tree line. Fish would not be near enough to fill their stomachs.

"There it is," the boy muttered to himself, eyeing a short tree. Small, round fruit hung just under the large leaves of the tropical plant. Rubbing his hands together, Storm launched himself at the stubby tree. It may have been short, but it was not short enough for the boy to reach the small fruit.

As he scaled the tree, he could hear the faint sound of wingbeats. "Em must be back," he muttered to himself as he reached for one of the small, pink-skinned fruit. Just as he snapped one off the branch it grew on, a set off talons nicked his hand. Crying out, Storm dropped the small fruit. He glared at the large brown form that swooped down as he clutched his bleeding hand to his chest. Empyrean gripped the fruit in on foot. She landed on a tree across from the one Storm sat in.

"That's mine, Em," Storm growled.

"Sure it is," the Pteranodon teased, taking the fruit in her beak. She slowly applied pressure to the soft fruit. It broke apart, pieces falling to the ground while Empyrean swallowed the soft mush in her mouth. She hummed in delight, a mocking smile playing on her beak. "You can get another one. You're still in the tree."

"You could just as easily grab one out of the tree. You don't even need to climb. Besides, I thought you didn't like anything other than fish."

"I wanted to try something different."

Storm just rolled his eyes at her words. "Well, now that your back and making a nuisance out of yourself. Can you get me those herbs I've stored in that one cave to keep them dry? The one with the hole where sunlight can filter in to dry them."

"Fine," Empyrean sighed. She took flight towards the aforementioned cave.

With the pterosaur gone, Storm continued picking the soft, pink-skinned fruit. Within a few minutes, he had several in his arms. Carefully, he descended from the tree, trying not to drop any of the fruit. They were nowhere near as good if they were bruised. He quickly made his way back to Aylene to see that she already had the fire roaring and the fish ready to be cooked.

Storm dropped his small load of fruit next to her, spotting Empyrean in the sky. He waved the pterosaur down. She landed beside him, dropping a bundle of leaves she had been carrying her in talons. The two females then watched as Storm began to crush the herbal leaves into tiny pieces. He sprinkled them onto the fish evenly. "I learned a little bit about cooking from Shane back in the Land of Mists. You can put them over the fire now, Aylene."

The girl did so, skewering the two fish onto separate sticks and placing them over the fire on a specially made rack Storm had also brought out earlier. As they waited for the fish to cook, the pair ate the fruit. As Storm bit into his second fruit, he turned to Empyrean. He raised an eyebrow at the pterosaur. It was as if she was sulking. She sat a few feet away from the fire, glaring at Storm and Aylene as they ate the fruit, a small conversation having happened between the two.

Frowning, the brown haired boy stood up, sauntering over to Empyrean. She snapped her gaze up at him. "What?" she snapped.

It was clear to Storm by not only the tone in her voice but also her body language that she was agitated. Still, he tried to ignore it as he crouched down and spoke to her in a low whisper. "I was hoping you could pay a certain cousin of yours in the Great Valley a little visit. I know he's one of the six defeaters of Sharptooth. They all need to know that Aylene's okay. I'm sure they are concerned about her right now, especially Littlefoot, the longneck she keeps talking about."

Empyrean snorted, thrusting her long beak away from Storm in a display of arrogance. "Why should I?"

"Em," the boy hissed. He gestured to Aylene whom was watching the fish cook, and had a hand to her Time Stone, lost in thought. "She needs to get home."

"Well, then wait for that little necklace of hers to take her home. She doesn't need to be back in the Great Valley to get home, does she?"

"No…but." Storm looked over his shoulder at the girl, brow furrowed in worry. "She's worried about them. There's been some weird stuff going on in the valley. She wants to be there just in case something bad happens. She does have a bow and arrows, along with an amazing sword. Come on. I'm sure you would love to visit Petrie. He's your cousin after all. And you have all your other cousins too. But Petrie is your dad's favorite, remember."

"Yes, I remember." Empyrean sighed, raking her small fore claws in the soft sand. "If I go, do you have to stay with her? I'm sure your parents could take care of her." The Pteranodon did not look up at her human friend, drawing another circle in the sand with her other clawed wing.

"Em…?" Storm raised an eyebrow at her words. "There is no way I would leave Aylene here. She would be fine out here, even without my parents, I know that, but she needs another person around to keep her company. I'm the closest thing she's got." He ran a hand through his messy brown hair. "I'm getting the feeling that you're…jealous of her?" A grinned crept over his lips when he noticed the Pteranodon tense. "Hey, I thought you were pushing me to talk to her. Are you regretting that now?"

"I am not jealous," The Pteranodon turned away from him once more, pouting— as best as a pterosaur could pout. "I just don't like how much attention you're showing her."

"So you're jealous?"

"No, I am not!"

"Are too. Come on, admit it."

Empyrean said nothing, still not even looking back to Storm as she pouted.

"Okay, how about I catch you…" Storm paused for a moment, thinking of an amount that would please his winged friend. "Eight fish, as soon as you get back."

"Fishing is way too much fun, for me and you. Maybe if you don't visit her afterwards. Then I'll think about going to the Great Valley."

Storm grimaced. "I don't think I'll be able to keep that promise. What else do you want me to do? Other than keeping me away from her. I can rub the knots out of your muscles. I know your wings get sore from all the flying. I could do whatever want for an entire day. You can torture me all you want and I won't complain."

Empyrean stayed quiet for a moment as she thought. A wary smile played on her beak as she opened her wings. "Alight, I'll go to the Great Valley. But, I'll tell you about the deal once I inform the little leaf-eaters where she is. I should be back by tomorrow afternoon. It's not like the Great Valley is far from here."

"Thanks Em," Storm wearily smiled back at her as she took flight, heading straight for the valley.

He watched her fading form, worriedly running a hand through his hair, wondering what he had gotten himself into with his agreement. "I hope it's nothing too painful."

"Storm," Aylene suddenly spoke up. "I think the fish are ready."

As the younger teen said this, Storm finally noticed the mouth-watering scent wafting through the night air. He stomach growled, signaling how hungry he really was. Standing up, he walked back over to Aylene, taking the fish he had caught off the fire. He sat down next to the girl, bringing up the conversation he had with Empyrean.

The pair ate their fill of fish and fruit while they laughed about tales from their not so distant past. Aylene told him the story about when she first came to the world of dinosaurs and defeated Sharptooth with her five herbivore friends. She also told him about her many other adventures: when she found her sword, Fierce Loyalty, and took on Savage Spine. Also, when she and her friends raised a baby Tyrannosaurus rex, which they named Chomper. In return, Storm told Aylene all about his life when he lived in the Land of Mists. How he found Empyrean, wounded by a bellydragger, and nursed her back to health, only to meet her father, Pterano. Storm also told Aylene much about Shane, his other human friend from the Land of the Mists and the pack of Dilophosarus he lived with.

All too soon, the pair grew tired. With their bellies full and their stories running dry, they lay down to rest. With the pleasantly warm night air as a blanket, they soon drifted off. Aylene even managed to fall asleep without the presence of Littlefoot. She was too tired to think about it. It did not matter, there was another someone beside her. Tonight, she would sleep well.

Aylene groaned as sunlight washed over her tan face. She brought her arm over her eyes, blocking out the light so she could get a little more sleep. However, as she did this she noticed the same mouth-watering scent from last night wafting in the air. Pushing herself to a sitting position, the girl groggily blinked her eyes at the smoldering fire. Several small fish laid out on a heated stone for her. Licking her chapped lips, the fifteen-year-old stretched her arms above her head before wandering over to the meal.

"I see you're finally awake," Storm's voice came from the shore.

She looked up to see the older teen standing on the wet sand, arms crossed over his bare chest. His face was one of concerned thought. His dark amber eyes were locked on the dark billowing clouds far out in the ocean. He could tell it was coming their way, and it would be a bad one. Sighing, he turned to Aylene, who was eating one of the fish. "Morning." He smiled, but it was obviously forced.

"Did you already eat?"

"Yeah." The brown haired boy seated himself across from Aylene, back facing the ocean and looming storm.

"Good, because I don't know if I would be able to save even one for you." Aylene sunk her teeth in to her second fish, smiling at the flavor that flooded her mouth. "What herbs did you use this time?" she asked, covering her mouth, which was still full.

Storm shrugged, pointing to the pile of greens that sat behind him. "I don't really know what their called anymore. Shane showed me them when I was living in the Land of the Mists. They work really well. But, if you like at my cooking, you should have tasted Shane's. He was amazing. Zone of the things I miss most about not seeing him all the time is the meals he cooked. He even ate…" Storm trailed off, remembering that Aylene was a lover of all dinosaurs and that Shane had cooked up several species similar to Aylene's friends.

The dark haired boy shook his head. "Um…never mind. But…if you're not too freaked out about a dead shark. I know that you told me how much you hate sharks. You know, them being mindless and all…but…um…I could see if there is any left. I don't know if my parent's ate any. But, I could cook us some for lunch."

"Um…" the girl trailed off, glancing in the direction where the pair of Irritators had dragged the Edestus into the jungle of tropical plants. She was unsure how she would feel eating shark meat. It was not like it was going to attack her but, it just creeped her out. "Maybe…" Aylene finally muttered.

"Awesome!" Storm grinned, standing up only to suddenly be buffeted by a powerful gust of wind. He turned to the ocean, exotic amber eyes narrowed at the brewing clouds ahead once more. Pursing his lips in thought, he signal Aylene to stand up. "That storm is moving faster than I thought." At his words, another gust of wind buffeted the pair. "And it is angry. Take the rest of the fish with you. You can eat it on the way. We should at least get deeper into the trees. Don't want the tide to wash us away or the wind to force us into the angry water."

Aylene nodded, pulling her gym bag and then her bow onto her back before grabbing several of the left over fish and trotting after Storm. The dark haired boy crept through the jungle, leading her deeper and deeper into the tropical forest. He pushed back leaves twice the size of her head and clawed away half-inch thick vines that reminded her of snakes. Shuddering, Aylene stuck close to Storm, almost stepping on his heels a few times. The seventeen-year-old did not seem to mind, too focused on finding a safe place to wait out the storm. Every so often, he would glace over his shoulder, amber eyes searching the ever darkening horizon.

"It's moving _so_ fast," he muttered, worry reflecting in his dark amber eyes. "And it looks like it's going to be a bad one too. Probably the worst we've seen this year. Maybe we should find a cave right away." He frowned as he looked at the looming clouds fast approaching. "They're coming at us so…unnaturally fast. Something is up with the weather today." At his words, Storm glanced down at his hands. He looked up at the sky once more then looked back down at his hands, clenching and relaxing them. Shaking his head, he turned to Aylene. "We need to find a cave before the storm reaches us, which won't be long."

"Right." Aylene stared at the massive thunderheads; the humongous, fluffy clouds towering high in the sky. Below the angry looking clouds, the sky and sea were dark. She could hear the local pterosaurs calling to one another, trying the find the safest place to wait out the storm. She brushed the back of her hand against her Time Stone, and held the fish closer to her chest in worry as she began to follow Storm deeper into the forest.

"Don't worry, Aylene," Storm said, as the pushed through the large leaves of the tropical forest. "I'll make sure we're okay." Just as he said this, a streak of lightning lit up the darkening sky. Fat raindrops soon plummeted to the earth. Several more seconds past before the boom of thunder sounded. Aylene could not help but flinch at the ear-numbing sound. It was not like she was scared of storms, it was just unexpected.

"Come on." Storm tugged on her arm, pointing out a cave he had spotted. "It's my favorite cave. I use to explore in it all the time when we first moved here. It's safe. I promise." The older teen then tugged Aylene towards the cave opening several meters away. Once in front of it, he began to pull away the sheets of vines and moss before allowing Aylene to enter. He followed her in, seating himself across from the girl. "We can wait it out in here, for now."

"Okay…" she muttered, clutching the fish closer, unable to grab her Time Stone because of her full hands. Looking down at the fish in her hands, she held them out to Storm. The older teen nodded in thanks, taking one. He chomped down on it as Aylene slipped her bow and gym bag off her shoulders. With one of her hands finally free, she absentmindedly played with the little green charm that hung around her neck. She stared out at the sky through the vines that still hung over the cave's entrance. "It does look really bad out there. Is Empyrean going to be okay?"

"Yeah. She is tough. I sent her out early enough last night, so she shouldn't be anywhere near the storm. We always get storms at the shore. Maybe not as bad as this one, nor as fast forming, but we still get a lot. The flyers that live out on that island over there." Storm leaned over, pointing at a small, towering patch of rock surround by a thin strip of sand. "They always blame me for the weather. Lots of them say that they have never encounter such strange weather or so many thunderheads in their life." He lowered his hand, chuckling. "I always tell them that it is just like that around here."

Aylene frowned at his words. "But it's not, is it? I've never seen a storm like this before either. In my home dimension or here. The sky looks really scary now." The wind howled through the cave, an eerie whistle sounding throughout it. The pair were buffeted by another gust just as that one died. Raindrops splattered on the floor and the sheltering teens.

The younger teen brushed a loose lock of brown hair away from her eyes. "Why are there so many storms? I know this is the tropics, but I don't think they get storms like _this_ , _all_ the time."

"Um…" Storm trailed off, adverting his eyes from Aylene's questioning blue ones. His face flushed, knowing that he had unintentionally revealed a secret of his. He had let it slip. That tone of playfulness in his voice when talking about the flyers had tipped her off. "I-I don't know. They just happen. There's a lot of them." The boy fidgeted, running his hand through his hair and looking this way and that, trying his best to keep his gaze low and off Aylene.

Another streak of lightning lit of the sky, this one a large, bright blue bolt. The heart-pounding, crackling boom sounded only a second later. Aylene flinched, but Storm was unaffected by the noise. His eyes only brightened at the sound. He gawked at the raging storm outside in awe. He adored this weather, even when it was dangerous. When you heard Aylene sigh, he turned to look at the girl.

"Cera would be terrified. She's my Triceratops friend. Er, threehorn. She hates storms."

"I love them," Storm replied absently as he looked out, watching as tattered leaves danced in the howling wind, a small smile playing on his lips. "They are so…I don't know. The power they possess one minute, then the next they're gone. The lightning is beautiful and the thunder that comes after it is breathtaking; sometime, literally. Then, the rainbows that appear after it. I'm actually named Storm…Endless Storm, because… my parents found me during a deluge. They said it lasted weeks, but I know they are exaggerating."

The boy traced a symbol in the sandy grit that lined the cave floor. "Did you know there is more than one Walking Terror? Savage Spine was the Walking Terror of the Tropics. Sharptooth was the Walking Terror of the Mysterious Beyond."

"Really?" Aylene sat up in surprise. "Then why would Savage Spine want Sharptooth's title?"

Storm trailed his finger through the sand, looking up at the raging storm outside. "Well… I think Em told me that the Walking Terror of the Mysterious Beyond had a larger piece of territory, along with all those leaf-eaters that wander through his land. He was also known as the worse of the worse of the Walking Terrors. He was the strongest and most feared. And do you know how powerful you would be if you had _two_ Walking Terror titles?"

"And all the other predators just want to have the same rank as Sharptooth." She rubbed her hands together, discarding the two sticks the fish she had eaten were skewered onto. She drew her legs to her chest, placing her forehead on her knees. "I know why they are after us, but we are just kids. Littlefoot and the rest of the Gang are way younger than I am. We might have killed Sharptooth, but…it's not like we can take on other predators like he could. And he had a disease that made him crazy and more powerful than a normal T .rex."

"Well…" Storm trailed off, biting his lip, unsure if he should continue. "Many believe that all six of you killed Sharptooth. That's why they always go after all of you. But…I also know some that know that _you're_ the one that killed Sharptooth. You're the one that…um. You're that one that actually holds the title… the title of Walking Terror of the Mysterious Beyond. You're the one that put an arrow though his heart that killed him. Some just go after your friends because they know it will draw you out."

"So some are just after me?" She sighed, drawing her legs closer. Lighting lit of the sky and a strangled howl of the wind filled their ears. "That's just wonderful." She looked up at Storm, worry etched in her face. "So, what other Walking Terrors are there? What other giant carnivores do I have to be afraid of?"

"There is Frozen Wasteland, who controls the Taiga. I think his mother had the same title until she was killed. Em told me that it was rumored that another Walking Terror killed her. Then there is Redclaw. He might not have a title yet, but he's definitely rising in the ranks. He might make a new title for himself. Em's talked about another one, a female, but I can't remember all she said about her. Not many know about her yet. She's the newest that has gained a Walking Terror rank."

Another flash if lighting lit up the dark sky, the rumbling roar of thunder following it. Aylene flinched at the sound. She was now even more jumpy with the new knowledge that predators may be specifically targeting her, but would not hesitate to harm her friends, or that there was more than one out there, along with more claiming to be Walking Terrors.

"Do you want it to stop?"

Aylene looked up in surprise at Storm's voice. "Wh-what do you mean."

"The storm," the boy gestured outside of the cave. "I can tell it's brothering you. I…" he licked his lips, tearing his gaze away from her. "I can make it stop."

"Wh-what?"

Storm just shook his head. Climbing to his feet, he walked out into the intense weather. He looked over his shoulder at her as he raised his hands to the sky. His dark amber eyes filled with worry at the thought of what she might think, but he also didn't want to see her so distressed anymore. Turing back to the weather, he let his eyes close. Relaxing, he began to move his fingers and hands in elegant motions. It was like he was pulling the weather system apart, layer by layer. Gradually, the lightning stopped lighting up the sky. The pounding rain and howling wind died down to a drizzle and a breeze. The sky brightened again until it was only a light rain shower.

Stepping back, Storm looked back over his shoulder. His eyes were still filled with worry and questioning. He was apprehensive that she would be afraid of him, or disgusted. He relaxed a little bit when he only saw confusion and…recognition. "I can…manipulator storms. That's another reason why my parents called me Endless Storm. They think I might have been the one causing the storm when they found me."

"I met someone like you before. He could manipulate life energy. But, he was really rude."

The boy smiled as he approached the girl and held out his hand. "Come on, let's head back to the shore. You can wait for your friends there and I can show you something truly amazing.

Aylene nodded, a smile of her own gracing her lips. Retrieving her gym bag and bow from the ground, she grabbed the offered hand and allowed Storm to draw her to her feet. The two teens than made their way back to the shore, the rain now only a light drizzle as the sun shone through the clouds.

Aylene had kept her gaze to the ground as they travelled, not wanting her feet to tangle in the dense underbrush. As they broke the canopy of trees, Storm motioned her to look up. An involuntary gasp left the teenage girl as her eyes were drawn to the horizon. The sky was adorned with twin rainbows – both more vivid than any she had ever seen before.

"Isn't it amazing how such a powerful and destructive force can leave something so peaceful behind?" Storm commented as he enjoyed the girl's awestruck appearance.

"It's beautiful," Aylene murmured breathlessly, not able to tear her gaze from the sight looming over the ocean.

For the next few hours, the two teens quietly relaxed on the sandy beach as they enjoyed the more comfortable temperature that the storm had brought. The boy had collected more fruit, as well as some figs that grew on nearby trees, for them to eat. Time passed quickly as they shared stories.

Storm was about to begin to recount another adventure to Aylene when he heard shouting in the distance. Looking to the sound, a small smile played on his lips. "Looks like your friends are here." Storm pointed to the creatures in the distance.

Aylene turned her head to look in the direction Storm was pointing to see four young herbivore dinosaurs running towards them, along with one small and one large Pteranodon flying overhead.

A taupe Apatosaurus ran ahead of the group, glee painted on his face. Laughter bubbled out from him as he grew closer to the girl. Laughing, he threw himself into her arms. "Aylene!" He nuzzled her, happy to know that she was alive and well. The teenager toppled over with his weight. She laughed, hugging Littlefoot back.

"Why didn't you come to the Great Valley?" Littlefoot asked, sliding off the girl.

"I think it was because I was stressed. It happened another time when Derek and I tried to come to the Great Valley and met that Ryker guy."

"Yeah. I remember," Littlefoot smiled. "But let's get to the Great Valley first before we start sharing stories."

Aylene nodded. Standing to her feet, she walked over to Storm, who had also stood. The teenage girl smiled shyly at the bare chested older teen. "Thank you for saving me from those…' Her voice trailed off in a shudder as she remembered her close call the day before. She still wasn't quite sure how Storm had actually saved her from the circling predators and the boy just brushed it off when she asked him. She really needed to make sure she was in a relaxed state of mind before her next visit to the dinosaur dimension.

"You're welcome," the boy smiled back. He was just glad that he had been close enough to hear her terrified screams and was able to rescue her. It had been nice to talk to another human for a while.

"Well, I guess my friends and I should get back to the Great Valley," Aylene sighed after an awkward silence descended on the two teens.

Storm nodded as Aylene turned back to Littlefoot. Grabbing her gym bag and bow from the sandy ground, she slung them over her shoulder and then waved good-bye to her new friend before hopping onto Littlefoot. Storm waved back, a sad smile playing on his lips. "Can I visit you some time?"

"Of course. Come to the Great Valley whenever you want." Aylene waved back, grinning.

A soft sigh escaped Storm's lips as he turned away. The boy looked over at the dark clouds that still hung over the distant horizon. He smiled when Empyrean flew over him, a devilish smile on her beak. The Pteranodon glided down, landing easily by his side. She nudged him with her beak, gesturing for the boy to follow her. While flying back to her friend, she had thought of the perfect idea for Storm to pay her back…

 **For any of you that read my** _ **Truth's**_ **series, I don't think I'm going to get to my next LBT story until school starts. I've been so into my originals that all I want to do is write them.** **Also, I'm very sorry for not getting to any of those reviews I promised people. I've been busy this summer and it has been really hard to focus on anything.**


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